Back to Search

Elephant shaped jar
(جرة بشكل فيل)

Title	Elephant shaped jar
Title Original	جرة بشكل فيل
Publication Date:	The twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century AD
Publication Place	- Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID	POT 1285
Record ID	object;EPM;uk;Mus21;19;ar
Library Location	Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Date	The twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century AD
Notes	The large elephant-shaped water jar/bowl bears the figure of an elephant (mahut) sitting in front of an exquisitely decorated howdah in which there is a dancer and two musicians. Round caps cover the elephant's ears and the robes on its body, perhaps intended to indicate defensive covers. The details are finely shaped and often enhanced with colored glaze. The bowl is filled through a hole in the back, while the stem functions as a pourer. The titular figures are exceptionally rare and only three are known, the most famous of which is the Knight of Raqqa, a knight found in mortal combat with a huge snake (in the National Museum in Damascus). The horse is also hollow, but larger, but the presence of an opening to place a pole in the horse's belly probably means that it is considered an example.
Sample Text	“Elephant-shaped jar” within Discover the collections of Islamic art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus21;19;ar

View in source Museum With No Frontiers Museum With No Frontiers - Ottoman library catalog search

Museum With No Frontiers

Elephant shaped jar

(جرة بشكل فيل)

Publication Date The twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century AD

Publication Place - Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Library Asset ID POT 1285

Record ID object;EPM;uk;Mus21;19;ar

Library Location Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art

Date The twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century AD

Notes The large elephant-shaped water jar/bowl bears the figure of an elephant (mahut) sitting in front of an exquisitely decorated howdah in which there is a dancer and two musicians. Round caps cover the elephant's ears and the robes on its body, perhaps intended to indicate defensive covers. The details are finely shaped and often enhanced with colored glaze. The bowl is filled through a hole in the back, while the stem functions as a pourer. The titular figures are exceptionally rare and only three are known, the most famous of which is the Knight of Raqqa, a knight found in mortal combat with a huge snake (in the National Museum in Damascus). The horse is also hollow, but larger, but the presence of an opening to place a pole in the horse's belly probably means that it is considered an example.

Sample Text “Elephant-shaped jar” within Discover the collections of Islamic art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus21;19;ar