This footed bowl has a rich program of inlaid silver decoration. There are epigraphic bands under the rim and around the foot, each with blessings for the bowl's owner in animated script, with a band of medallions containing the signs of the Zodiac in the middle. Each medallion is framed by a ring of pointed rays that underscore the solar symbolism of the decoration, and each sign is shown with its Planetary Lord.
In Arabic, Aquarius is called al-dalw ("the water bucket") when referring to the sign of the Zodiac, and sakib al-ma ("the water pourer") when referring to the constellation. Correspondingly, illustrations of the Zodiac show Saturn, the Planetary Lord of Aquarius, raising a bucket of water from a well, whereas illustrations of the constellation, following the original Greek name, show a male figure pouring water from a vessel.
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Aquarius Sign
Artwork Details
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Title:Footed Bowl
Date:early 13th century
Geography:Attributed to Iran
Medium:Bronze; inlaid with silver and black compound
Dimensions:H. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm) Diam. 6 15/16 in. (17.6 cm) Wt. 26.3 oz. (745.7 g)
Classification:Metal
Credit Line:Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Object Number:91.1.543
Footed Bowl
Footed bowls, called jams in Persian, have a long history among the art objects produced in Iran. This particular type of bowl, with a rounded profile, sides that curve inward, and a low, slender foot, was widely used in eastern Iran in the twelfth and the thirteenth century.
Most of the original silver inlays are now lost, but enough remain to provide a clear impression of the overall decorative program of the bowl. There are two epigraphic bands, under the rim and around the foot, each consisting of a sequence of blessings for the bowl's anonymous owner copied in cursive thuluth script. The hastae of the letters broaden as they rise toward the top, where they are cut off horizontally; in the upper band, large engraved areas of the hastae take the form of human faces—hence, the common designation of "human-headed" cursive calligraphy. The benedictory formulas used for the inscriptions as well as specific details in the calligraphic style point firmly to an eastern Iranian origin for this footed bowl.
The main field, under the larger epigraphic band, is ornamented with a series of round medallions in two rows, each medallion representing a sign of the Zodiac and framed by a ring of flamelike, pointed rays that underscore the solar symbolism of the decoration. The empty spaces between the medallions are filled with four vegetal scrolls that stem from a footed vase whose shape is reminiscent of that of the object they adorn.
The zodiacal cycle can be read in proper order from right to left, alternating from the upper to the lower row, its iconography both extremely traditional and, with the presence of the Planetary Lords, comprehensive. As in the case of the MMA lidded inkwell (no. 59.69.2a, b), numerous nonessential details enrich the artistic quality of the designs. Thus, Leo's tail ends in a dragon's head, while that of Sagittarius terminates in a full-bodied quadruped instead of just the usual dragon's head; the pans of the scale (Libra) are human-headed; and the background is inhabited by scrolls ending in animals' heads. Furthermore, Cancer includes a meaningful addition that is commonly incorporated in more western, Jaziran (southern Anatolian and northern Mesopotamian) objects: the presence of a heart-shaped knot between the crab's body and the Moon clutched in its claws, which symbolizes the Lunar Node—a variation on the iconography of the pseudo-planet Jawzahr discussed in MMA 91.1.527a (catalogue number 8 in this volume). However, this isolated symbolism is not sufficient to suggest a more western provenance for the bowl, since all of the other elements point to eastern Iran.
Stefano Carboni in [Carboni 1997]
Inscription: In Arabic below the rim: Glory, Happiness, Prosperity, Generosity, Favors
Translation by Yassir al-Tabba: Glory, prosperity, dominion, happiness, intercession, care, health, increase, dignity, continuance, chieftainship, rule and longevity to its owner
In naskhi script:
العز و الاقبال و السعادة و الشفاعة و العنایة و العافیة و الزیاد[ة] و الکرامة و الدوامة و الریاسة و السیاد[ة] و البقاء الدائم لصاحبه
A.Ghouchani
The inscription also read by Yassir al-Tabba as:
العز و الاقبال و الدوله و السعاده و الشفاعه و العنایه و العافیه و الزیاد[ه] و الکرامه و الدوامه و الریاسه و السیاده و البقا دائم لصاحبه
Edward C. Moore (American), New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art," February 4–August 31, 1997, no. 6.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Decorated Word : Writing and Picturing in Islamic Calligrahy," April 8–November 3, 2019.
Dimand, Maurice S. "Near Eastern Metalwork." Museum of Metropolitan Art Bulletin (1926). pp. 193–96, ill. fig. 1 (b/w).
Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 143, ill. fig. 84 (b/w).
Ettinghausen, Richard. "The Flowering of Seljuq Art." Metropolitan Museum Journal vol. 3 (1970). pp. 113–31, ill. fig. 3 (b/w).
Carboni, Stefano. Following the Stars: Images of the Zodiac in Islamic Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 19, pp. 44–45, ill. (b/w).
Casagrande-Kim, Roberta, ed. "Islamic Transformations of the Classical Past." In Romance and Reason. Princeton and Oxford: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, 2018. no. 64, p. 138, ill. pl. 48.
Ekhtiar, Maryam. How to Read Islamic Calligraphy. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. p. 111, ill. fig. 44.
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