A SAFAVID OR OTTOMAN ENGRAVED BRASS 'MAGIC' BOWL

PERSIA OR TURKEY, 16TH CENTURY

Details

A SAFAVID OR OTTOMAN ENGRAVED BRASS 'MAGIC' BOWL
PERSIA OR TURKEY, 16TH CENTURY
Of rounded form rising in the centre to a small omphalos, the interior with a medial band of flowering vine linking four large roundels containing runic inscriptions flanked above and below with part roundels containing the signs of the zodiac, four further larger half roundels around the rim with the remaining four signs, all on a ground of diagonal lines of continuous naskh inscription, the omphalos with swirling panels of similar inscription, the exterior with two runic roundels and two inscription roundels linked by a cross-hatched band of meandering vine, similar part panels above, on a plain ground, the rim with a continuous band of inscription cartouches, two later owners' inscriptions, small hole in rim, omphalos very slightly rubbed
7.1/8in. (18.1cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

The inscriptions around the bowl include koranic verses, prayers, the call to God to bless the Prophet and the twelve Imams, as well as more magical invocations. A later inscription on the bowl, which may date from the same time as the tughra on the underside, records the donation of the bowl in waqf to "His Holiness, Aba Ayyub Ansari". The inscriptions around the bowl are all Shiite, indicating that it was made in Persia and was subsequently brought to Istanbul.

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