Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 137
A finely decorated early Safavid wine-bowl and two others Persia, 16th Century(3)
23 April 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £475 inc. premium
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A finely decorated early Safavid wine-bowl and two others
Persia, 16th Century
Persia, 16th Century
the largest of rounded form, with slightly everted rims on splayed circular base engraved with champlevé designs, decorated to base with an arcade of suspended palmettes, to body with frieze comprising figures hunting on horseback, wild animals, seated figures amidst dense floral decoration above a band of scrolling floral vine, to rim with geometric interlinked cartouches containing inscriptions, quadrupeds and floral patterns; the smallest decorated to base with palmettes within roundels, to body with flower filled cartouches against a profusely decorated background of floral motifs and split palmettes, to rim with narrow band of inscriptions engraved between scrolling floral vines; and the third decorated to base and rim with palmettes within arches, to body with lobed medallions containing floral and foliate motifs and inscription bearing cartouche on a hatched ground
the largest 7 cm. high(3)
the largest 7 cm. high(3)
Footnotes
Inscriptions: to the largest bowl: Four Persian couplets (unidentified) and signed as salam 'ala ibrahim ('Peace be upon Abraham'). The phrase from the Qur'an, chapter XXXVII (al-safat), part of verse 109, is usually used as signature by artists with the name "Ibrahim" or "Muhammad Ibrahim"; to the smallest bowl: A Persian quatrain on drinking by the 14th Century poet Salman Savaji (d. 778/1376), often attributed to Omar Khayyam; to the third bowl: 'Its owner Muhammad Qasim Isfahani'.
The first bowl can be dated to the early Safavid period circa 1510 based on comparison with another similarly decorated wine bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum (1191-1854). The remarkable decoration is based on manuscript illumination and calligraphy and includes a large blooming lotus flower more typical of the Timurid period. The mix of Persian quatrains with Qur'anic verses and lively pictorial scenes are also known on wine-bowls in the early Mughal period.
The influence of similarly decorated early Safavid bowls can be found on North Indian metalwork from the early 17th century. For examples, see M. Zebrowski, Gold, Silver and Bronze, London, 1997, plates 581a, b, 582.