Ewer
Ewer
10th century (cast)
10th century (cast)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A pear-shaped ewer resting on a tall slanting foot. The waisted neck is separated from the body by two mouldings.
Eleven pentagonal facets come down from the rib and imbricate with eleven shorter facets rising from the base. The neck is chamfered, showing thirteen facets. The two mouldings isolating the body from the neck are framed by narrow raised fillets with indentations which are a 10th or 11th century feature.
The handle is a flattened cyma-shape with indentations which broaden into a triangular plaque that encircles the opening. This is engraved with a triangle enclosing 2 tendrils and a bud. It's rim has shaped elements but these are no longer identifiable. The eyes of the mythical birds are replaced/represented by roundels engraved with crosses. The gazelle head, on previous models at the base of the handle, is here reduced to an abstract motif.
The ewer's most significant feature is the epigraphic band between the two mouldings, written in compact square lettering; the floriated element applied with great restraint.
Patina: Green and red patches over dark brown.
Eleven pentagonal facets come down from the rib and imbricate with eleven shorter facets rising from the base. The neck is chamfered, showing thirteen facets. The two mouldings isolating the body from the neck are framed by narrow raised fillets with indentations which are a 10th or 11th century feature.
The handle is a flattened cyma-shape with indentations which broaden into a triangular plaque that encircles the opening. This is engraved with a triangle enclosing 2 tendrils and a bud. It's rim has shaped elements but these are no longer identifiable. The eyes of the mythical birds are replaced/represented by roundels engraved with crosses. The gazelle head, on previous models at the base of the handle, is here reduced to an abstract motif.
The ewer's most significant feature is the epigraphic band between the two mouldings, written in compact square lettering; the floriated element applied with great restraint.
Patina: Green and red patches over dark brown.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Ewer (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Cast brass with engraved decoration |
| Brief description | Cast bronze pear-shaped ewer with engraved decoration |
| Physical description | A pear-shaped ewer resting on a tall slanting foot. The waisted neck is separated from the body by two mouldings. Eleven pentagonal facets come down from the rib and imbricate with eleven shorter facets rising from the base. The neck is chamfered, showing thirteen facets. The two mouldings isolating the body from the neck are framed by narrow raised fillets with indentations which are a 10th or 11th century feature. The handle is a flattened cyma-shape with indentations which broaden into a triangular plaque that encircles the opening. This is engraved with a triangle enclosing 2 tendrils and a bud. It's rim has shaped elements but these are no longer identifiable. The eyes of the mythical birds are replaced/represented by roundels engraved with crosses. The gazelle head, on previous models at the base of the handle, is here reduced to an abstract motif. The ewer's most significant feature is the epigraphic band between the two mouldings, written in compact square lettering; the floriated element applied with great restraint. Patina: Green and red patches over dark brown. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Persian; kufic; On the moulding between neck and body.; engraved)
|
| Object history | Purchased for £9 9s 10d from Mirza Sarkis Ayvazoff, 130 Blackheath Hill, Greenwich, 22nd November 1902. Historical significance: A specimen closely relating to the V&A ewer is in The Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg. The two mouldings that separate the neck from the body suggest a late 10th or early 11th century version of an already popular model from the previous two centuries. However, the chamfering and faceting on the body are a legacy of the earlier period. The eyes of the mythical birds are replaced/represented by roundels engraved with crosses. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1434-1902 |
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| Record created | February 5, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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