This rare double-shelled ewer imitates in ceramic the Seljuk metalwork techniques of openwork decoration, a masterpiece in the annals of pottery production.
A pierced outer shell representing deer, sphinxes, and human-headed birds covers a solid inner shell designed to hold the liquid contents. Inscriptions and willow leaves encircle the lower body and neck, above which rises a rooster’s head with an open crest to receive liquid and a pierced beak for pouring. The rooster, perhaps identified here as the Simurgh (a magical being able to protect against evil), in this case possibly was intended to guard the owner of the ewer from poison.
A pierced outer shell representing deer, sphinxes, and human-headed birds covers a solid inner shell designed to hold the liquid contents. Inscriptions and willow leaves encircle the lower body and neck, above which rises a rooster’s head with an open crest to receive liquid and a pierced beak for pouring. The rooster, perhaps identified here as the Simurgh (a magical being able to protect against evil), in this case possibly was intended to guard the owner of the ewer from poison.
Details
Artist | Islamic, Iranian |
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Title |
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Date | ca.1200 |
Medium | Under-glaze slip-painted fritware |
Dimensions | Overall: 10 3/4 × 6 3/4 × 6 inches (27.3 × 17.1 × 15.2 cm) |
Credit Line | Founders Society Purchase with funds from Founders Junior Council, Henry Ford II Fund, Benson and Edith Ford Fund, J. Lawrence Buell, Jr. Fund |
Accession Number | 1989.34 |
Department | Islamic Art |
On View | Islamic N120, Level 1 (see map) |
Provenance
(Said, Motamed, Frankfurt, Germany);
1989-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
1989-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Published References
Bulletin of the DIA 65, no. 2/3, 1989, p. 9, fig. 6, (ill).
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 123 (ill.)
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 123 (ill.)