Square Tray
Square Tray
1100-1200 (made)
1100-1200 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Octagonal dish surrounded by a narrow flat rim and four spandrels. This square edge is in turn framed by a slightly raised platform with a slanting, slightly rounded rim.
At the centre of the dished area, a winged, human-headed lioness is engraved on a scrolling ground framed by a double circle. She wears a three-pointed head-dress and is surrounded by the 'halo of glory'.
The four triangular corners in the spandrels enclose a single foliate scroll.
The rim is engraved at the corners with lotus-bud-shaped escutcheons and in the centre of each side elongated cartouches frame inscriptions.
Patina: cleaned off except for some red oxide patches. Possibly an ancient restoration on the underside.
At the centre of the dished area, a winged, human-headed lioness is engraved on a scrolling ground framed by a double circle. She wears a three-pointed head-dress and is surrounded by the 'halo of glory'.
The four triangular corners in the spandrels enclose a single foliate scroll.
The rim is engraved at the corners with lotus-bud-shaped escutcheons and in the centre of each side elongated cartouches frame inscriptions.
Patina: cleaned off except for some red oxide patches. Possibly an ancient restoration on the underside.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Square Tray (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Stamped bronze plate with engraved decoration. |
| Brief description | Metalwork. Tray, brass alloy with engraved decoration, central roundel depicts a winged sphinx, Arabic inscriptions around the rim, Khurasan, Iran or modern Afghanistan, 1100-1200 |
| Physical description | Octagonal dish surrounded by a narrow flat rim and four spandrels. This square edge is in turn framed by a slightly raised platform with a slanting, slightly rounded rim. At the centre of the dished area, a winged, human-headed lioness is engraved on a scrolling ground framed by a double circle. She wears a three-pointed head-dress and is surrounded by the 'halo of glory'. The four triangular corners in the spandrels enclose a single foliate scroll. The rim is engraved at the corners with lotus-bud-shaped escutcheons and in the centre of each side elongated cartouches frame inscriptions. Patina: cleaned off except for some red oxide patches. Possibly an ancient restoration on the underside. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (Persian; Kufic; Cartouches in the centre of the rims; engraved)
|
| Object history | Purchased for £30 together with M.181 - 1951 from S.B.Meyer on behalf of Frank Savery, 18 July 1951 Historical significance: No other square tray of this type is on record except for M.181 - 1951. |
| Bibliographic reference | A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, 8th-18th Centuries (London: HMSO, 1982), no.28, p.99. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.188-1951 |
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| Record created | March 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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