Middle East, Metalwork. Cauldron, cast leaded brass with engraved decoration, inscription naming Muhammad b. al-Husayn al- Salar, Samarkand, possibly 1250-1350

Patina: blackish brown

Purchased for £19 from Monsieur A.M. Tahtajian, 30 May 1899.

A note in the inventory files refers to a letter from Mr Tahtajian dated 20 November 1898, in which the dealer wrote that the cauldron was 'said to have been found in the ruins of Aphrosaib', i.e. Afrasiyab, the site of the early medieval city of Samarqand. The transcription of the name according to the North Eastern Iranian pronunciation of Persian speakers in Samarqand - 'o' instead of 'a' - gives some slightly greater credibility to the information. Mr Tahtajian, a Batum (Georgia) resident, would not normally have pronounced the name in the Eastern Iranian way and may be assumed to have passed on information from his own contacts in Samarqand.

Attribution place formerly known as Mavera al-Nahr

1953-1899