PROBABLY KHORASSAN, NORTH EAST IRAN, CIRCA 9TH CENTURY

Details

AN EARLY ISLAMIC BRONZE EWER
PROBABLY KHORASSAN, NORTH EAST IRAN, CIRCA 9TH CENTURY
The inverted drop-shaped body on hoofed tripod feet with a band of fluting around the shoulder, the lightly waisted tubular neck with vertical flutes and a cusped everted rim, the S-shaped handle surmounted with a pomegranate thumbpiece, the curving spout with a rosette flange at the mouth
12 1⁄2in. (32cm.) high

Provenance

London trade, 1989
Anon. sale in these Rooms, 27 April 2004, lot 35
Xavier Guerrand-Hermes, sold

Special notice

The USA prohibits the purchase by US persons of Iranian-origin “works of conventional craftsmanship” such as carpets, textiles, decorative objects, and scientific instruments. The US sanctions apply to US persons regardless of the location of the transaction or the shipping intentions of the US person. For this reason, Christie’s will not accept bids by US persons on this lot. Non-US persons wishing to import this lot into the USA are advised that they will need to apply for an OFAC licence and that this can take many months to be granted.

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Lot Essay

This charming modern looking ewer belongs to a transitional type of early Islamic metal ewers in which the shapes began to change. The little zoomorphic legs formed as hoofs are a typical feature of the type. A number of ewers of this type, characterised by their neck formation, sometimes with one or two spouts with rosette nozzle, are preserved in museum collections (Eva Baer, Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, New York 1983, figs. 67-8). A very similar example sold at Bonhams London, 25 October 2007, lot 60.

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