Dish
September 1496-August 1497 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The inscription on this decorative bowl contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner.
It is made of copper covered with a layer of tin. The tinned metal once shone like silver. This bright surface would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition.
It is made of copper covered with a layer of tin. The tinned metal once shone like silver. This bright surface would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Copper, cast, the decoration incised (i.e. engraved or chased), tinned, inlaid with a black material |
| Brief description | Tinned copper dish with lotuses, cloud bands and blessings in Persian, Iran, 1496-97. |
| Physical description | Flat dish of tinned copper. The cross-hatched background was once filled with a black composition that contrasted with the silvery colour of the tinning, now dulled. The dish has a shallow foot-ring and low walls that curve inwards towards the flat rim. The decoration of the main surface is a three-part composition arranged around a small patterned disc in the centre. Floating between this disc and the border are three medallions with scalloped outlines that end in points top and bottom. The medallions are filled with a combination of two sets of scrollwork. One bears the large lotus-like blossom at the centre; and the other, the pair of large, stylized leaves that frame the blossom. The spaces between the medallions are filled with a composition of Chinese-style cloud scrolls. The border shows six cartouches with rounded ends, which contain verses in Persian written in the thuluth style of calligraphy. Between the cartouches are six roundels containing a Y-fret pattern. The cartouches and roundels and the band that contains them are all defined by a continuous plain fillet. The flat rim is decorated with an oblique chain motif similar to that used to frame the central disc. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | جهانت بکام و فلک یار باد / جهان آفرینت نگهدار باد
بکام تو بادا همه کار تو / خداوند بادا نگهدار تو
بکام تو بادا سپهر بلند / زچشم بدانت مبادا گزند
سنه ۹۰۲ (A conventional combination of three couplets in Persian by three different poets: the first is by Sa'di, from the preface to his Bustan; the second is attributed to Daqiqi; and the third is from the Shahnamah of Firdawsi.
The date AH 902 is equivalent to AD 1496-7.)
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| Gallery label | Jameel Gallery
Dish with Clouds and Lotuses
Iran
Dated 1496
Copper wares such as this dish were being made when the Safavids came to power. The tinned metal once shone like silver. It would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition. The inscription contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner.
Copper engraved, tinned and filled with a black composition
Museum no. 374-1897(Jameel Gallery) |
| Object history | Purchased in Istanbul in 1897 from Mrs Alice Whitaker, daughter and heir of William Henry Wrench (1836-96). Wrench was British consul in the city when he died, and he had formed a significant collection of Ottoman and Iranian objects while in the consular service. For images of how Wrench displayed his collection in his home in the Pera (Beyoğlu) district of the city, see V&A: PH.331 to 334-1892. |
| Production | dated AH 902 |
| Summary | The inscription on this decorative bowl contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner. It is made of copper covered with a layer of tin. The tinned metal once shone like silver. This bright surface would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 374-1897 |
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| Record created | March 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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