Lot Essay
The inscription reads: al-'izz w'al-iqbal w'al-dawla w'al-sa'ada w'al-afiya w'al-'inayat w'al-qana'a w'al-........w'al-tamma w'al-baqa li sahibihi
which can be translated as 'Glory, prosperity, good fortune, happiness, good health, goodness, contentment, ......, wholeness, and continuation to its owner'.
This bowl has been extensively discussed by Melikian-Chirvani, A.S.(:'Les bronzes du Khorassan: 5', Studia Iranica 6-2, 1976, pp.185-210). He there draws attention to a number of most unusual feature about the piece, and shows how it combines different motifs to form a whole that is in part conservative and in part extremely forward-looking.
The shape is very unusual to find in Khorassan of this period. Is appears frequently three and particularly four centuries later in the late Timurid and Safavid brass buckets. It does however have an even earlier prototype in a 9th century silver vessel (Ghirschman, R., 'Argenterie d'un seigneur Sassanide', Ars Orientalis II, 1957, pl.7, fig.13).
The decoration is extremely unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement. The band of inscription around the rim is typical of Khorassan of this period, although the larger lower band has unusual clarity of drawing. The designs and in particular the pomegranate trees hark back to the early Islamic period and can be found on a brass ewer in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (Baer, E.: Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, New York 1983, pl.113, p.135). A cover of the same date as the present bowl with similar decoration is at present on the London Art Market.
While the assymmetry is a late occurrence of an earlier fashion, the roundel that occupies the fourth quarter is more typical of bronzes of the 13th century. Devoid of silver inlay, it depicts a mounted swordsman. The style is so very different from that of the remainder of the bowl it suggests the hand of a second craftsman. Here, for the first time in Khorassan metalwork, one finds the direct influence of manuscript illustration making itself felt. A very similar figure is found in the early 13th century manuscript of Varg and Gulshah (Melikian-Chirvani, A.S., 'Le Roman de Varqe et Golsah', Ars Asiatiques XXII, 1970, fig.10) suggesting a direct link between the two. This theory is strengthened by the similarities of the pomegranite trees to some in the same manuscript.
which can be translated as 'Glory, prosperity, good fortune, happiness, good health, goodness, contentment, ......, wholeness, and continuation to its owner'.
This bowl has been extensively discussed by Melikian-Chirvani, A.S.(:'Les bronzes du Khorassan: 5', Studia Iranica 6-2, 1976, pp.185-210). He there draws attention to a number of most unusual feature about the piece, and shows how it combines different motifs to form a whole that is in part conservative and in part extremely forward-looking.
The shape is very unusual to find in Khorassan of this period. Is appears frequently three and particularly four centuries later in the late Timurid and Safavid brass buckets. It does however have an even earlier prototype in a 9th century silver vessel (Ghirschman, R., 'Argenterie d'un seigneur Sassanide', Ars Orientalis II, 1957, pl.7, fig.13).
The decoration is extremely unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement. The band of inscription around the rim is typical of Khorassan of this period, although the larger lower band has unusual clarity of drawing. The designs and in particular the pomegranate trees hark back to the early Islamic period and can be found on a brass ewer in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (Baer, E.: Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, New York 1983, pl.113, p.135). A cover of the same date as the present bowl with similar decoration is at present on the London Art Market.
While the assymmetry is a late occurrence of an earlier fashion, the roundel that occupies the fourth quarter is more typical of bronzes of the 13th century. Devoid of silver inlay, it depicts a mounted swordsman. The style is so very different from that of the remainder of the bowl it suggests the hand of a second craftsman. Here, for the first time in Khorassan metalwork, one finds the direct influence of manuscript illustration making itself felt. A very similar figure is found in the early 13th century manuscript of Varg and Gulshah (Melikian-Chirvani, A.S., 'Le Roman de Varqe et Golsah', Ars Asiatiques XXII, 1970, fig.10) suggesting a direct link between the two. This theory is strengthened by the similarities of the pomegranite trees to some in the same manuscript.