Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1580
Publication Place
Iran (made) -
Subject
Metalwork Islam
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Maximum height: 32cm, Diameter: 24.5cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
222-1892
Record ID
222-1892
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1580
Notes
The decoration on this bath bucket relies for its effect on the contrast between the plain ground and engraved areas. These originally had gold motifs on a black ground. The poetic inscription explains that the visitor to the public bath can forget his cares because âHe leaves behind the trappings of this world, except a bowl and a towel â and they are someone elseâsâ. This piece is an example of a new type of brassware with fine, engraved decoration that emerged in Iran around 1550. The motifs of stylised plants and other ornament appeared in relief against a hatched ground, originally filled with a black compound. Human and animal motifs, absent since before 1400, reappeared. The decoration was often arranged in bands or cartouches that matched the shape of the object. Poetic inscriptions in the elegant ânastaâliqâ style of Persian calligraphy were also common.
Sample Text
I remember an ancient master saying in the bathhouse / One day, some young man asked an older man / Which is the secret that makes anyone who sets foot in the bathhouse / Throw open the doors of mirth to his sorrow-stricken heart / He answered: he is not burdened with the trappings of this world / But for a bowl and towel- and even those are someone else's Note The inscription band is rendered in nasta aliq . Translation of the poem from: A.S. Melikian-Chirvani. Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World: 8th- 18th Centuries . (London, 1982), p. 307
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Engraved, cast and turned brass bucket Brass Engraving Casting Turning
Fiziksel açıklama
Cast and turned vessel, the body, rim and handle cast seperately. Engraved and inlaid with black compostition.
Üslup
Safavid
