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Lot Essay
The arms are probably those of the Pazzi family of Florence, a family reputed to have been founded by the first man over the walls of Jerusalem at the culmination of the First Crusade. The family became increasingly prominent during the course of the Middle Ages.
A number of bowls of this form have survived from the Mamluk period, some with, and some without spout. One of the best of all is that in the Museo Civico in Turin, very extensively decorated and inlaid, which has survived in very good condition (Rice, 1957, pp.487-500). Two others of the same form can be attributed confidently to the reign of Sultan al-Nasir Hassan (r.1349-51 and 1354-1361), one in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection (Allan, 1982, no.22, pp.102-3), the other, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is in the name of the Amir Taymur a captain under the Amir Yalbugha who was in turn governor of Aleppo and Amir al-Majlis for Sultan al-Nasir Hassan (Coomaraswamy, 1931, vol.29, no.174, pp.70-72). The form is known made for European patrons, such as an example with a complicated armorial formerly in the collection of Carl Robert Lamm, Stockholm (Ward, 2007, Fig.7, p.281).
The same form with the addition of a pouring spout, as here, is found made for the Mamluk court patrons, such as one in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, the note to the catalogue entry of which notes four more in the reserves of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Allan, 1982, no.21, pp.100-101); another was sold in these Rooms (8 April 2008, lot 82). As with the spoutless form, it was also made on commission for European patrons as in the current example and one in the British Museum (Baer, 1985, pl.97, p.118. Rachel Ward notes that vessels with flat bases seemed to be particularly popular as commissions for European patrons (Ward, 2007, p.269).
The earliest vessels of this form are dated to the mid-14th century, with the dating on some, for example the bowl in the Lamm Collection, being put well into the 15th (Ward, 2007, p.281). They are described in the context of a failing industry in the later 14th and the 15th century. The quality of craftsmanship on the present bowl, the extensive use of gold inlay, and the thickness of all the sheet metals used for inlay, indicate that is was made early on in this development, before the economic pressures later in the century. The sequence of animals that run around the shoulder, including the classic combination of a unicorn chasing an elephant also seen on the Turin bowl as well as the Baptistère de Saint Louis, also support a relatively early date, being typical much more of brasses from the first half of the 14th century.
This vessel was clearly a specific commission, as evidenced by the armorial bearing. In this context, what is more remarkable is the arrangement of animals around the underside. Animals viewed within a band are frequently encountered, as on the underside of the Turin bowl, but here we have a floral arcade formed by arabesques and lotus panels dividing panels, each of which contains a separate animal. Instead of processing around the vessel in the same direction, here they are arranged in pairs that face each other: deer, winged harpies, winged griffins, and lions. All of these are European heraldic bearings, the deer are trippant regardant and the lions passant gardant attitude, completely consistent with European heraldry. One other Mamluk vessel is known with animals freely processing around the underside, unencumbered by a restraining band, on the underside of a bowl in Modena (Rice, 1957, esp. pls. IX and X). There can also be found the winged harpy, the deer trippant regardant, and the lion passant gardant; only the griffin is lacking. Rice discusses the Modena bowl as almost a companion piece to the Turin example, demonstrating similarities in the workmanship, but the main point of the article is that the Turin bowl was made for a Shiite patron. The inscriptions are all about the martyrdom of Husayn, one of only two known instances. In the present bowl we have very similar workmanship, this time clearly made for a European patron. This indicates a remarkable degree of commercialisation of the commissioning and manufacturing process in 14th century Damascus, that pieces of this magnificent quality, equivalent to the best that would be commissioned by the court, could be commissioned by such different patrons.
A number of bowls of this form have survived from the Mamluk period, some with, and some without spout. One of the best of all is that in the Museo Civico in Turin, very extensively decorated and inlaid, which has survived in very good condition (Rice, 1957, pp.487-500). Two others of the same form can be attributed confidently to the reign of Sultan al-Nasir Hassan (r.1349-51 and 1354-1361), one in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection (Allan, 1982, no.22, pp.102-3), the other, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is in the name of the Amir Taymur a captain under the Amir Yalbugha who was in turn governor of Aleppo and Amir al-Majlis for Sultan al-Nasir Hassan (Coomaraswamy, 1931, vol.29, no.174, pp.70-72). The form is known made for European patrons, such as an example with a complicated armorial formerly in the collection of Carl Robert Lamm, Stockholm (Ward, 2007, Fig.7, p.281).
The same form with the addition of a pouring spout, as here, is found made for the Mamluk court patrons, such as one in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, the note to the catalogue entry of which notes four more in the reserves of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Allan, 1982, no.21, pp.100-101); another was sold in these Rooms (8 April 2008, lot 82). As with the spoutless form, it was also made on commission for European patrons as in the current example and one in the British Museum (Baer, 1985, pl.97, p.118. Rachel Ward notes that vessels with flat bases seemed to be particularly popular as commissions for European patrons (Ward, 2007, p.269).
The earliest vessels of this form are dated to the mid-14th century, with the dating on some, for example the bowl in the Lamm Collection, being put well into the 15th (Ward, 2007, p.281). They are described in the context of a failing industry in the later 14th and the 15th century. The quality of craftsmanship on the present bowl, the extensive use of gold inlay, and the thickness of all the sheet metals used for inlay, indicate that is was made early on in this development, before the economic pressures later in the century. The sequence of animals that run around the shoulder, including the classic combination of a unicorn chasing an elephant also seen on the Turin bowl as well as the Baptistère de Saint Louis, also support a relatively early date, being typical much more of brasses from the first half of the 14th century.
This vessel was clearly a specific commission, as evidenced by the armorial bearing. In this context, what is more remarkable is the arrangement of animals around the underside. Animals viewed within a band are frequently encountered, as on the underside of the Turin bowl, but here we have a floral arcade formed by arabesques and lotus panels dividing panels, each of which contains a separate animal. Instead of processing around the vessel in the same direction, here they are arranged in pairs that face each other: deer, winged harpies, winged griffins, and lions. All of these are European heraldic bearings, the deer are trippant regardant and the lions passant gardant attitude, completely consistent with European heraldry. One other Mamluk vessel is known with animals freely processing around the underside, unencumbered by a restraining band, on the underside of a bowl in Modena (Rice, 1957, esp. pls. IX and X). There can also be found the winged harpy, the deer trippant regardant, and the lion passant gardant; only the griffin is lacking. Rice discusses the Modena bowl as almost a companion piece to the Turin example, demonstrating similarities in the workmanship, but the main point of the article is that the Turin bowl was made for a Shiite patron. The inscriptions are all about the martyrdom of Husayn, one of only two known instances. In the present bowl we have very similar workmanship, this time clearly made for a European patron. This indicates a remarkable degree of commercialisation of the commissioning and manufacturing process in 14th century Damascus, that pieces of this magnificent quality, equivalent to the best that would be commissioned by the court, could be commissioned by such different patrons.