Ewer
BackDescription:
Brass ewer. Engraved decoration with astrological symbols and inscribed and inlaid with silver.
Object type: | ewer |
Museum number: | 1848,0805.2 |
Culture/period: | Middle Islamic |
Date: | 1180-1200 (circa) |
Production place: | Made in: Herat (?) |
Materials: | brass, silver (s) |
Technique: | engraved, inlaid(silver) |
Dimensions: | Height: 40.00 cm Width: 20.00 cm (max) Depth: 17.00 cm |
Location: | 8 |
Exhibition history: | Exhibited: |
Subjects: | astrology |
Acquisition names: | Purchased from: Charles Lenormant |
Acquisition date: | 1848 |
Curator's comments:
Scientific analysis by Dr M. Hughes in the British Museum indicates the composition to be 80.3% copper and 19.3% zinc, thus brass. This ewer belongs to a group of similarly shaped ewers attributed to Herat in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, one of which, known as the 'Tiflis ewer' (Ward 1993:76-7), is inscribed with a poem praising the object’s beauty and alluding to its function (for washing). The decoration consists of a masterfully orchestrated and rendered composition of figural, celestial and calligraphic imagery: repoussé lions and parakeets appear on the neck and shoulder; the planets, each with the sign of the zodiac representing its day or night house, appear on the widest register; and benedictory Arabic inscriptions in kufic and naskh are animated with human heads, emphasized in silver. The detail illustrates the brilliant effect of inlay on base metal, with silver and copper glittering upon the fluted sheet brass.
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