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Lot Essay
The kufic inscriptions are bold but often not precisely written. They include a repitition of al-mulk li 'illah or (Sovereignty is God's) and bi'l-yumm wa al-baraka wa al-salama wa al-surur wa al... or (With good-fortune and blessing and well-being and joy and...).
Eva Baer writes that only a few Syrian or Egyptian ewers of the early Islamic period are known, and that until more standardised shapes were adopted in later periods, the first Islamic centuries created a particularly high rate of variety in form (Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, Albany, 1983, p.83). In many aspects, such as the tubular, angled spout, the handle with the upward facing knop, and the fact that it sits on three feet, this ewer is a clear descendant of one in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo (No. 15240, see Baer p.91; also Schätze der Kaliphen, exhibition catalogue, Vienna, 1999, no.193, pp.201 and 204).
Eva Baer writes that only a few Syrian or Egyptian ewers of the early Islamic period are known, and that until more standardised shapes were adopted in later periods, the first Islamic centuries created a particularly high rate of variety in form (Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art, Albany, 1983, p.83). In many aspects, such as the tubular, angled spout, the handle with the upward facing knop, and the fact that it sits on three feet, this ewer is a clear descendant of one in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo (No. 15240, see Baer p.91; also Schätze der Kaliphen, exhibition catalogue, Vienna, 1999, no.193, pp.201 and 204).