Ewer
1100-1200 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ewer (aftabe), the spherical body rests on a low, slightly slanting ring-foot, the later addition of a spreading base has altered the original profile of the latter. The body has a tubular neck which widens slightly as it rises to a height approximately equal to that of the lower half.
A moulding isolates the body from the neck. The handle rises vertically from the upper body, with five moulded beads towards the upper half, curving over to join the neck at the rim. It has a spur shaped like a bird's head at the base of the handle, joined to an attachment-plate shaped like a narrow trilobed arch with a central cusp. The thumb rest is shaped like a pomegranate on a spherical base.
The engraved decoration comprises of the following. An epigraphic frieze encircles the mouth of the neck, originally inlaid with copper, and the top of the body.
Around the neck a zig-zag pattern has been engraved on a ring-matted ground.
Patina: blackish, rubbed off on limited areas, leaving spots of yellow brown alloy to appear. Some red oxide deposits on the neck where the patina has been partly cleaned off.
A moulding isolates the body from the neck. The handle rises vertically from the upper body, with five moulded beads towards the upper half, curving over to join the neck at the rim. It has a spur shaped like a bird's head at the base of the handle, joined to an attachment-plate shaped like a narrow trilobed arch with a central cusp. The thumb rest is shaped like a pomegranate on a spherical base.
The engraved decoration comprises of the following. An epigraphic frieze encircles the mouth of the neck, originally inlaid with copper, and the top of the body.
Around the neck a zig-zag pattern has been engraved on a ring-matted ground.
Patina: blackish, rubbed off on limited areas, leaving spots of yellow brown alloy to appear. Some red oxide deposits on the neck where the patina has been partly cleaned off.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cast bronze, engraved with copper inlay |
| Brief description | Cast bronze ewer, with engraved decoration and copper inlay, inscribed with conventional blessings, Iran (Khorasan), 12th century. |
| Physical description | Ewer (aftabe), the spherical body rests on a low, slightly slanting ring-foot, the later addition of a spreading base has altered the original profile of the latter. The body has a tubular neck which widens slightly as it rises to a height approximately equal to that of the lower half. A moulding isolates the body from the neck. The handle rises vertically from the upper body, with five moulded beads towards the upper half, curving over to join the neck at the rim. It has a spur shaped like a bird's head at the base of the handle, joined to an attachment-plate shaped like a narrow trilobed arch with a central cusp. The thumb rest is shaped like a pomegranate on a spherical base. The engraved decoration comprises of the following. An epigraphic frieze encircles the mouth of the neck, originally inlaid with copper, and the top of the body. Around the neck a zig-zag pattern has been engraved on a ring-matted ground. Patina: blackish, rubbed off on limited areas, leaving spots of yellow brown alloy to appear. Some red oxide deposits on the neck where the patina has been partly cleaned off. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Persian; epigraphic frieze; engraved)
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased for £15 8s from Jules Richard, following the Paris Exhibition, November 1889. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, 8th-18th Centuries (London: HMSO, 1982), no.19, pp.85-86. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 758-1889 |
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| Record created | March 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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