Traces of silver in the incisions of the calligraphic bands make this ewer one of the earliest examples of the twelfth-century development of metalwork inlay that took place in eastern Iran and Afghanistan. The inscriptions convey good wishes in Arabic for the owner.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Ewer with Calligraphic Band
Date:12th century
Geography:Attributed to Iran
Medium:Bronze; cast relief, engraved, inlaid with silver
Dimensions:Gr. H. 11 5/8 in. (29.52 cm) Diam. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
Classification:Metal
Credit Line:Purchase, Frederick P. Huntley Bequest, 1959
Accession Number:59.53
Inscription: Large inscription in kufic script on body:
بالیمن و البرکة و النامیة و السرور و الکاملة لصاحبة
Around foot in kufic script:
بالیمن و البرکة و النامیة و السرور و الکاملة و الشجاعة
On the shoulder in kuficscript:
برکة لصاحبه [بر]کة لصاحبه عبدالله المصفر
Around the neck in kufic script:
بالیمن و البرکة و التامة و السرور
On the handle in kufic script:
بالیمن
(A.Ghouchani, 2011)
The inscriptions were also read by Yassir al-Tabba as:
Main inscription لصاحبه [sic] بالیمن و البرکة و الباقیة و السرور الکامله
Around neck بالیمن و البرکة الباقیة و السرور الکا...
Upper body برکة لصاحبه العز و برکة لصاحبه
Around foot و الدولة و و السـ... [sic] بالیمن و البرکة و الباقیة و السرور الکامله
Back of handle بالیمن
[ E. Safani, New York, until 1959; sold to MMA]
Asia Society. "Iranian Ceramics," May 3, 1963–September 12, 1963, no. 64.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Calligraphy West of China," March 15–May 7, 1972, no catalogue.
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Celestial Pen: Islamic Calligraphy," September 28, 1982–February 7, 1983, no catalogue.
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament Part I: Calligraphy," February 26–June 28, 1998, no catalogue.
Paris. Musée du Louvre. "Louvre Long Term Loan," April 28, 2004–April 27, 2006, no catalogue.
"The Recent Accessions Room." Museum of Metropolitan Art Bulltin vol. 18 (April 1960). p. 269, ill. fig. 1 (b/w).
Wilkinson, Charles K. Iranian Ceramics. New York: Asia House Gallery, 1963. no. 64, pp. 7, 132, ill. pl. 64 (b/w).
Abu-l Faraj al-'Ush, M. "A Bronze Ewer with a High Spout in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Analogous Pieces." Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1972). pp. 187–90, ill. figs. 1–5f (b/w).
Ettinghausen, Richard, Oleg Grabar, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina. Islamic Art and Architecture 650–1250. 2nd ed. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001. p. 166, ill. fig. 253 (b/w).
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