Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Rasp

1690-1720 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Bath rasp in the shape of a shoe, fritware, underglaze decorated in blue and white with striped floral designs.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Fritware, underglaze painted in blue
Brief description
Bath rasp in the shape of a woman's slipper, fritware, underglaze painted in blue with striped design; Iran, 1690-1720.
Physical description
Bath rasp in the shape of a shoe, fritware, underglaze decorated in blue and white with striped floral designs.
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.2cm
  • Length: 11.6cm
  • Width: 5.5cm
Style
Object history
This object was purchased in Tehran in 1873, by Robert Murdoch Smith on behalf of the Museum. In his first bulk acquisition for the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A), Murdoch Smith had bought "a considerable collection" of over 100 examples of metalwork, ceramic, inlaid woodwork and textile from different local sources, including French diplomat Emile Charles Bernay and four art-dealers: Nasrullah Dellal, Abu'l-Hassan Dellal, Abdul-Husayn and Reza Kashi of Tehran. Many further acquisitions followed in the years 1873-1878 and 1883-1885, most extensively from the art-dealer Jules Richard, long resident in Tehran.
Bibliographic references
  • Crowe, Yolande, Persia and China: Safavid Blue and White Ceramics in the Victoria & Albert Museum (1501-1738) (London : Thames and Hudson, 2002): cat.no.528, p.285.
  • "[One of] 2 shoes of earthenware for rubbing the palms of the hands and soles of the feet in the bath" (Robert Murdoch Smith, November 1873, V&A Archives).
Collection
Accession number
442-1874

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Record createdApril 2, 2003
Record URL
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