Publication Date
Second half of the tenth century AD (339 – 390 / 950 – 1000)
Publication Place
-
National Archaeological Museum
Subject
Bronze, cast in the lost wax method, carved and double gilded.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
ارتفاع: 32.3 سم؛ الطول: 31.5 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
1943/41L1
Record ID
object;ISL;es;Mus01;1;ar
Library Location
National Archaeological Museum
Date
Second half of the tenth century AD (339 – 390 / 950 – 1000)
Notes
A small double-gilded bronze sculpture in the shape of a doe; It is a shape with a fragile and asymmetrical shape. Its surface is almost entirely covered with a delicate oriental floral decoration (lotus flowers drawn within circles) that makes it appear richly draped. Judging by the remains visible in the grooves of the sculpture and in various parts of the body, the piece was entirely gilded. The simple shapes of the body, the lines of the face and the legs ending in the form of very short cylinders, compared to the body, are reminiscent of the representations of animals that appear on Fatimid ceramics. This sculpture was undoubtedly used as a watering can’s head, as the body, except for the legs, is hollow and the cavity is perforated with a special port to allow The passage of water, which was exploding in the form of a waterfall through the nozzle. The presence of water inside the Umayyad gardens was an indication of prosperity, prosperity, and well-being. Watering cans were an important aesthetic element in the Islamic palaces of the West, especially in Andalusia. It is likely that this doe was accompanied by other bronze animals.
Sample Text
Margarita Sánchez Llorente “Watering Head” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;es;Mus01;1;ar
