Arm-band, amulet
BackDescription:
Iranian wrestler's leather armband (bazuband) with 15 carnelian and chalcedony amulets inscribed with verses from the Qur'an.
Object type: | arm-band, amulet |
Museum number: | 2008,6040.1 |
Date: | 19thC |
Production place: | Made in: Iran |
Findspot: | Found/Acquired: Tehran |
Materials: | leather, cornelian, chalcedony |
Inscriptions: | Inscription details: inscription in Arabic Inscription quoted: Inscription note: From the Qur'an |
Location: | 48 |
Exhibition history: | Exhibited: 2012-2013 7 Aug-27 Jan, London, BM, 'Fair Play: Heroes, Athletes & Princes in Islamic Art' 2010 Jul-Aug, Newcastle, Hatton Art Gallery, 'Takhti: A modern Iranian hero' 2010 Jan-Apr, Manchester, Whitworth Art Gallery, 'Takhti: A modern Iranian hero' 2009 19 Feb-19 Apr, London, BM, Room 3, 'Takhti: A modern Iranian hero' |
Acquisition names: | Funded by: Brooke Sewell Permanent Fund |
Acquisition date: | 2008 |
Curator's comments:
Wrestlers were presented with ritual items including an armband (bazuband) set with amulets. The tradition stems from Persian oral tradition and the national epic of Iran, the Shahnama (Book of kings), in which the great hero Rustam gives the mother of his unborn child Suhrab an armband. When Suhrab grows up, his mother gives him the bazuband before he sets off to find his father. Unknowingly, the two heroes confront each other in battle and Suhrab is killed by his father. Rustam only recognises his son when he sees the armband as Suhrab lies dying. This bazuband contains amulets made from carnelian and chalcedony and is engraved with verses from the Qur’an, including ‘help from God and a speedy victory’.
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