The twelve-sided ewer belongs to a small group of early Islamic bronze ewers that have been variously attribuited to Egypt or Iran. Typical for them is the S-shaped handle with numerous peculiarities. They have a sharply angled return to the body . The lower curve is u\interrupted by pierced rectangular solid cubeand they always bear a polyhedral thumbstop.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Ewer
Date:8th–9th century
Geography:Attributed to Iran
Medium:Bronze
Dimensions:H. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm) W. 7 in. (17.8 cm) D. 4 11/16 in. (11.9 cm) Wt. 41.5 oz. (1176.6 g)
Classification:Metal
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1949
Accession Number:49.49
Ewer
This twelve-sided ewer belongs to a small group of early Islamic bronze ewers that have been variously attributed to Egypt or Iran. All of them have pear-shaped, faceted bodies, a large torus-molding separating the body from the faceted neck, and a large S-shaped handle, and all were originally lidded in the manner seen here. Also common to this group are numerous peculiarities of the handle. It invariably has a very sharply angled return to the body, its lower curve is interrupted (most often by a pierced rectangular solid such as can be seen here), it always bears a polyhedral thumb stop, and has at least one projection below the latter. This ewer, unlike the others known, rests on three knoblike feet.
Marilyn Jenkins in [Berlin 1981]
Joseph Brummer, New York (by 1943–d. 1947; his sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries,New York, April 20–23, 1949, lot 91, to MMA)
"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 9, pp. 44–45, ill. p. 45 (b/w).
Ali, Wijdan. The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art : From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries. Jordan: The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan, 1999. p. 44, ill. fig. 18 (b/w).
Dunn-Vaturi, Anne-Elizabeth, and Martina Rugiadi. "in: The Brummer Galleries, Paris and New York. Edited by Biro, Brennan and Force." In The Brummer Gallery and the Making of Iranian and Islamic Art, edited by Yaëlle Biro, Christine Brennan, and Christel Hollevoet-Force. Brill, 2023. p. 447.
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