Physical description
Rock crystal ewer with pear shaped body, beaked rim, and slightly splayed foot. Flat handle sprouts from the back of the rim and joins the back of the body near the base. The top of the handle bears fragments of earlier carved decoration. Shoulder is plain except for three slightly projecting borders. The body is covered with near-symmetrical decoration, depicting on either side of the body the motif of a bird of prey (falcon or eagle) alighting on the back of a horned quadruped (probably a gazelle). These figural scenes are surrounded by scrolls of palmettes and split palmettes, and the whole design is set within a frame as if the object were covered by a textile with a decorative pattern. The surface is perfectly polished, the crystal is very clear, and the object is very light.
Place of Origin
Egypt (made)
Cairo, Egypt (probably, made)
Date
1000-1050 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Rock crystal
Dimensions
Height: 19.5 cm, Diameter: 9 cm of base, Height: 14.3 cm of handle, Width: 2.7 cm of handle, Width: 5.2 cm of mouth, maximum, Thickness: 5 mm of handle, Thickness: 1.7 mm of ground body, Thickness: 2 mm of body with relief decoration, approx., Weight: 580 g whole
Object history note
Originally thought to be a Byzantine object.
Historical significance: Such high quality rock crystal objects are known to have been made for the Fatimid Caliphs of Cairo. A ewer which is closely related to this one is in the Treasury of San Marco in Venice, which bears an inscription which names the Caliph al-'Aziz (975-996).
Descriptive line
Rock crystal ewer with carved decoration, Egypt (probably Cairo), 1000-50.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Anna Contadini, Fatimid Art at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1998, pp. 37-38, plate 7
Stanley, T., with Rosser-Owen, M. and Vernoit, S. Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London: V&A Publications, 2004, pp. 94-95, pl. 106
Ewer is the subject of a V&A web object story, 'A rock crystal ewer from Egypt', [http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/periods_styles/hiddenhistories/crystalewer/index.html]
Clive Wainwright, 'The Making of the South Kensington Museum IV. Relationships with the trade: Webb and Bardini' in Journal of History of Collections, 14, no. I (2002) pp.63-78
Labels and date
Rock Crystal Ewer
Egypt, probably Cairo
1000-50
This rare ewer was carved from a single piece of the extremely hard, transparent stone known as rock crystal. On either side a bird of prey attacks an antelope. The image may have symbolised the ruler's ability to overcome his enemies.
The plain surfaces, such as the band around the neck, were probably once covered with mounts of gold and other materials. These would have contrasted with the clear crystal, which one writer of the time described as combining the properties of air and water.
Carved rock crystal
Museum no. 7904-1862 [Jameel Gallery]
Materials
Quartz crystal
Techniques
Carved
Subjects depicted
Eagle; Gazelle; Falcon (bird)
Categories
Containers; Islam; Africa
Collection code
MES
