Ewer
1650-1725 (made), 1800-1870 (mounting)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ewer, fritware, adapted for serving chilled water, primarily by adding metal mounts, which are of different dates.
The body is a flattened sphere with eight lobes, in the manner of some types of gourd. This shape may follow that of Indian metalwork vessels (compare V&A: IS.11-1973, for example). Four of the lobes are solid, and they alternate with four lobes of double-walled construction, the exterior wall having pierced arabesque decoration (one lobe broken away and repaired). The pierced lobes are covered with a watery manganese glaze, which contrasts with the deep-blue glaze used for the rest of the body.
The curved handle and the straight spout rise from the two of the solid lobes. The neck is cup-shaped, and the transition from body to neck is marked by a torus moulding, indicating that the model for this object was a silver or other metalwork ewer. Sprig-moulded flowerheads were applied around the base of the spout, along the handle, above and below the torus moulding and around the rim.
When the ewer was adapted for serving chilled water, an opening was cut in the upper part of the handle so that the ewer could be filled with water, as the original opening at the neck was blocked by the metal container for the ice. The opening in the handle is covered by a hinged flap attached to a collar, all probably of copper alloy. A brass-coloured mount forms the elongated spout, which terminates in a flowerhead with a mammiform head. The tinned-copper, hinged, ogee-domed cover has engraved decoration that includes inscriptions in Arabic script and is topped with a decorative finial.
The internal cylinder for ice is missing.
The body is a flattened sphere with eight lobes, in the manner of some types of gourd. This shape may follow that of Indian metalwork vessels (compare V&A: IS.11-1973, for example). Four of the lobes are solid, and they alternate with four lobes of double-walled construction, the exterior wall having pierced arabesque decoration (one lobe broken away and repaired). The pierced lobes are covered with a watery manganese glaze, which contrasts with the deep-blue glaze used for the rest of the body.
The curved handle and the straight spout rise from the two of the solid lobes. The neck is cup-shaped, and the transition from body to neck is marked by a torus moulding, indicating that the model for this object was a silver or other metalwork ewer. Sprig-moulded flowerheads were applied around the base of the spout, along the handle, above and below the torus moulding and around the rim.
When the ewer was adapted for serving chilled water, an opening was cut in the upper part of the handle so that the ewer could be filled with water, as the original opening at the neck was blocked by the metal container for the ice. The opening in the handle is covered by a hinged flap attached to a collar, all probably of copper alloy. A brass-coloured mount forms the elongated spout, which terminates in a flowerhead with a mammiform head. The tinned-copper, hinged, ogee-domed cover has engraved decoration that includes inscriptions in Arabic script and is topped with a decorative finial.
The internal cylinder for ice is missing.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Fritware, moulded, pierced and glazed; metal mounts, engraved |
| Brief description | Ewer for chilled water, fritware covered with deep-blue and manganese-purple glazes, lobed body with areas of double-walled construction with pierced decoration; Iran, 1650-1725; with later brass mounts, engraved, Iran, 1800-1870. |
| Physical description | Ewer, fritware, adapted for serving chilled water, primarily by adding metal mounts, which are of different dates. The body is a flattened sphere with eight lobes, in the manner of some types of gourd. This shape may follow that of Indian metalwork vessels (compare V&A: IS.11-1973, for example). Four of the lobes are solid, and they alternate with four lobes of double-walled construction, the exterior wall having pierced arabesque decoration (one lobe broken away and repaired). The pierced lobes are covered with a watery manganese glaze, which contrasts with the deep-blue glaze used for the rest of the body. The curved handle and the straight spout rise from the two of the solid lobes. The neck is cup-shaped, and the transition from body to neck is marked by a torus moulding, indicating that the model for this object was a silver or other metalwork ewer. Sprig-moulded flowerheads were applied around the base of the spout, along the handle, above and below the torus moulding and around the rim. When the ewer was adapted for serving chilled water, an opening was cut in the upper part of the handle so that the ewer could be filled with water, as the original opening at the neck was blocked by the metal container for the ice. The opening in the handle is covered by a hinged flap attached to a collar, all probably of copper alloy. A brass-coloured mount forms the elongated spout, which terminates in a flowerhead with a mammiform head. The tinned-copper, hinged, ogee-domed cover has engraved decoration that includes inscriptions in Arabic script and is topped with a decorative finial. The internal cylinder for ice is missing. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | When this ewer was made, in the period 1650-1725, it was used to serve liquids, probably at table. In the 19th century it was adapted for serving chilled water. The adapted form of the vessel allowed water to be poured in through a hole created in the upper part of the handle, while the domed lid opened for ice to be inserted into a cylindrical metal container. The ice chilled the water in the surrounding cavity. Other ewers of this type in the V&A include 468-1874, 476-1876, 1123-1876, 555-1878, 637-1889 and C.217-1912. See also British Museum, 1878,1230.627. |
| Production | register |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.220-1912 |
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| Record created | March 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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