Ewer
1350-1450 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ewers supported on a pedestal foot began to appear about 1500 and the decoration on this ewer is typical of the brass work made in Venice in the period 1500-1550. The decorative techniques and motifs were influenced by the objects Venetian merchants brought back to the city when trading with the Arab and Turkish empires that bordered the Mediterranean.
Venetian brass work was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the whole surface of the object. It featured the arabesque pattern that was based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Here the maker has combined the Islamic arabesque with coats of arms, which suggests that the patron might have been a wealthy aristocrat.
Venetian brass work was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the whole surface of the object. It featured the arabesque pattern that was based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Here the maker has combined the Islamic arabesque with coats of arms, which suggests that the patron might have been a wealthy aristocrat.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brass, engraved and formerly inlaid with silver |
| Brief description | Middle East, Metalwork. Ewer with splayed foot, rounded body, straight spout, curved handle and a lid surmounted by a bird, brass with engraved decoration in horizontal registers of foliate scrollwork, roundels, cruciforms and reciprocal trefoil arcading, Egypt or Syria, 1350-1450 |
| Physical description | Ewer with splayed foot, rounded body, straight spout, curved handle and a lid surmounted by a bird, brass with engraved decoration in horizontal registers of foliate scrollwork, roundels, cruciforms and reciprocal trefoil arcading |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Dr W L Hildburgh, FSA |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Ewers supported on a pedestal foot began to appear about 1500 and the decoration on this ewer is typical of the brass work made in Venice in the period 1500-1550. The decorative techniques and motifs were influenced by the objects Venetian merchants brought back to the city when trading with the Arab and Turkish empires that bordered the Mediterranean. Venetian brass work was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the whole surface of the object. It featured the arabesque pattern that was based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Here the maker has combined the Islamic arabesque with coats of arms, which suggests that the patron might have been a wealthy aristocrat. |
| Bibliographic reference | Sylvia Auld, Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud the Kurd. A metalworking enigma, 2004, no.8.4, p.294. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.43-1946 |
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| Record created | March 11, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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