Dish thumbnail 1
Dish thumbnail 2

Dish

September 1496-August 1497 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The inscription on this decorative bowl contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner.

It is made of copper covered with a layer of tin. The tinned metal once shone like silver. This bright surface would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Copper, cast, the decoration incised (i.e. engraved or chased), tinned, inlaid with a black material
Brief description
Tinned copper dish with lotuses, cloud bands and blessings in Persian, Iran, 1496-97.
Physical description
Flat dish of tinned copper. The cross-hatched background was once filled with a black composition that contrasted with the silvery colour of the tinning, now dulled. The dish has a shallow foot-ring and low walls that curve inwards towards the flat rim. The decoration of the main surface is a three-part composition arranged around a small patterned disc in the centre. Floating between this disc and the border are three medallions with scalloped outlines that end in points top and bottom. The medallions are filled with a combination of two sets of scrollwork. One bears the large lotus-like blossom at the centre; and the other, the pair of large, stylized leaves that frame the blossom. The spaces between the medallions are filled with a composition of Chinese-style cloud scrolls. The border shows six cartouches with rounded ends, which contain verses in Persian written in the thuluth style of calligraphy. Between the cartouches are six roundels containing a Y-fret pattern. The cartouches and roundels and the band that contains them are all defined by a continuous plain fillet. The flat rim is decorated with an oblique chain motif similar to that used to frame the central disc.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 18.9cm
  • Height: 1.8cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
جهانت بکام و فلک یار باد / جهان آفرینت نگهدار باد بکام تو بادا همه کار تو / خداوند بادا نگهدار تو بکام تو بادا سپهر بلند / زچشم بدانت مبادا گزند سنه ۹۰۲ (A conventional combination of three couplets in Persian by three different poets: the first is by Sa'di, from the preface to his Bustan; the second is attributed to Daqiqi; and the third is from the Shahnamah of Firdawsi. The date AH 902 is equivalent to AD 1496-7.)
Translation
May the world comply with your wishes and Heaven be your friend! May the Creator of the world be your guardian! May all your affairs accord with your wishes! May the Lord be your guardian! May the high Heavens comply with your wishes! May no harm come to you from evil men's eyes! anno 902
Transliteration
Jahân-at be-kâm u falak yâr bâd / Jahân-âfarin-at negahdâr bâd / Be-kâm-i to bâdâ hame kâr-e to / Khodâvand bâdâ negahdâr-e to / Be-kâm-i to bâdâ sepehr-i boland / ze chashm-i badân-at mabâdâ gazand Sane 902 /
Gallery label
Jameel Gallery Dish with Clouds and Lotuses Iran Dated 1496 Copper wares such as this dish were being made when the Safavids came to power. The tinned metal once shone like silver. It would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition. The inscription contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner. Copper engraved, tinned and filled with a black composition Museum no. 374-1897(Jameel Gallery)
Object history
Purchased in Istanbul in 1897 from Mrs Alice Whitaker, daughter and heir of William Henry Wrench (1836-96). Wrench was British consul in the city when he died, and he had formed a significant collection of Ottoman and Iranian objects while in the consular service. For images of how Wrench displayed his collection in his home in the Pera (Beyoğlu) district of the city, see V&A: PH.331 to 334-1892.
Production
dated AH 902
Summary
The inscription on this decorative bowl contains three couplets by famous poets, all expressing good wishes for the owner.

It is made of copper covered with a layer of tin. The tinned metal once shone like silver. This bright surface would have contrasted strongly with the recessed background, which was filled with a black composition.
Bibliographic references
  • A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Le Bronze iranien, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1973, pp.92-3.
  • A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World 8-18th centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1982, pp.250-52, no. 110.
  • J.M. Rogers, Islamic Art and Design 1500-1700, British Museum, London, 1983, no.191.
  • Linda Komaroff, The Golden Disk of Heaven: Metalwork of Timurid Iran Costa Mesa, California, and New York, 1992, no.18.
  • Rachel Ward, Islamic Metalwork, London, 1993, p.106, fig 83.
Collection
Accession number
374-1897

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Record createdMarch 18, 2003
Record URL
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