SIGNED ['ALI] NAJAF, SAFAVID IRAN, DATED AH 1088/1677-78

Details

A LARGE TINNED-COPPER BOWL
SIGNED ['ALI] NAJAF, SAFAVID IRAN, DATED AH 1088/1677-78
On trumpet foot, the rounded body with a register of nasta'liq calligraphy on a ground of scrolling floral vine
15 ¼in. (38.7cm.) diam.

Engraved

Around the body: The call on God to bless the 14 Innocents, followed by the maker's name and date, bandah-yi shah-i vlayat najaf 88[0]1, 'Slave of the King of Trusteeship (i.e. ‘Ali), Najaf. 1[0]88 (1677-78)'
On the base: A small cartouche with the name Mu'min

Sale room notice

Please note that the Gulf Cooperation Council has imposed a ban on the importation of Iranian goods to or via its member states. Please check with your shippers whether you will be able to ship Iranian artworks to the GCC member states prior to purchase.

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Sara Plumbly

splumbly@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2372

Lot Essay

A similar bowl dated about thirty years earlier than ours (AH 1053/1643-44 AD), is in the British Museum (ME 2006,0405.1; Sheila Canby, Shah ‘Abbas. The Remaking of Iran, exhibition catalogue, London, 2009, no.117, p.240). Canby writes that bowls of this type gained currency in the 17th century – usually decorated with religious or poetic inscriptions and sometimes combining the two.

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