Publication Date
6th/12th century
Publication Place
-
Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm
Subject
Engraved marble.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 31سم؛ الطول: 64سم؛ العرض: 32سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
1897.10.47
Record ID
object;ISL;se;Mus01_A;31;ar
Library Location
Demographics Museum
Date
6th/12th century
Notes
A jar holder carved from a single piece of marble. It consists of a hollow part with an octagonal section on four legs, and a basin protruding from the front. The basin is connected to the hollow part through an opening surmounted by a three-lobed arch with two lion’s head protrusions on the panel above it. The four edges form shallow niches surrounded by columns, with an engraved arch pattern. A muqarnas occupies the center of the side panels, and the two protrusions on the side of the basin are repeated in a smaller form on the upper edge of the side panels of the hollow section. The wide edge of the basin bears a kufic inscription that extends to the hollow part and continues in the form of a frame surrounding the side panels. The writing is completely damaged on the right side, while on the left side the text is in good artistic condition, although the content is not known. The legs are decorated with raised edges linked by trefoil brackets. Jar stands were made to support water jars made of unglazed pottery. The porosity of the material of the jar body allows water to percolate through the bottom of the jar, and the filtered water that collects in the basin can then be used for drinking purposes. It seems that jar holders of this distinctive shape were specific to Egypt from the Fatimid period to the Mamluk period, and the amazing shape of the holder could have been inspired by many previous Egyptian traditions of purifying, storing, cooling and drinking water. There is no doubt that relying on the Nile to obtain drinking water made it necessary to treat the water to make it drinkable. The alabaster jars that are sometimes seen with this type of holder cannot be original, as the non-porous stone cannot allow water to pass through it, but none of the pottery jars that were used with it have survived to this day.
Sample Text
Friederike Voigt “Jar base” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;se;Mus01_A;31;ar
