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Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011
Aug 12, 2011
Twelve-sided Ewer with Sphinxes and Human-Headed Inscriptions
Twelve-sided Ewer with Sphinxes and Human-Headed Inscriptions
1300–1350
Iran, Khurasan, Ilkhanid period
(1256–1353)
Hammered sheet of brass inlaid with silver
Overall: 44.8 cm (17 5/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1945.27
Location
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Did you know?
Calligraphy with human heads, known as animated script, developed in northeast Iran during the 1100s.
Description
The spout and neck of the ewer display a crouching and seated lion in raised relief. Winged hare-like animals march around the top of the body, set off by foliate scrolls, while sphinxes process around the center. The bottom of the ewer’s body is encircled by an inscription with human heads, which only appear on metalwork in Islamic art. Ewers like this, and similar elaborate vessels, would have been used in court banquets and elite homes across the Islamic world.
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