Ewer with Inscription, Horsemen, and Vegetal Decoration

Ewer

This vessel belongs to a group of ewers, lavishly inlaid in precious metals, associated with the renowned "al-Mawsili" (from Mosul) School of metalworkers that thrived during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, first in Mosul and later in centers such as Cairo and Damascus.[1] The short but prominently located inscription, inlaid around the base of the neck, provides key information on the history of this school.[2] The date given, 1226, places the ewer among the earliest-dated examples of the school’s inlaid metalwork, both shedding light on the early development of the craft in Mosul and connecting it with the preceding Khurasan metalworking school.[3] The artist, ‘Umar ibn al-Hajji Jaldak, identifies himself in the inscription as a student of the Mosul master Ahmad al-Dhaki, whose fame adds prestige to the maker and his work.

The shape of this vessel classifies it among the Syrian-Jaziran ewers, which resonate with a Mediterranean tradition rooted in Roman antiquity.[4] The figural repertoire presents scenes from the courtly activities of an ideal ruler, including hunts, polo games, and festivities featuring musicians, dining guests, and the sovereign on his throne.[5] Interlacing quadrilobed medallions enclose animated waq-waq arabesque-trees rendered in an eastern Islamic style; in the 1230s, the medallions would develop into overall grids that both increased the design’s overall geometric structure and highlighted the enclosed figural scenes.[6] Other distinct hallmarks of al-Mawsili inlaid metalwork include the octagonal medallions with a frit-pattern and the sculptural rosette at the bottom. The representations of the signs of the zodiac on the scalloped neck follow Khurasani models and reflect an eastern Islamic source. When Moore collected this ewer, he could not have known of its historical importance; he must instead have been attracted by its skilled inlay craftsmanship and detailed, densely composed design.


Deniz Beyazit in [Higgins Harvey 2021]

Footnotes:

1. For other examples of this group, see Kana’an, Ruba. "The Biography of a Thirteenth-Century Brass Ewer from Mosul." In God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty: The Object in Islamic Art and Culture, edited by Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom, pp. 177–93. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press 2013. For references on inlaid metalworking and the "al-Mawsili" school, see Raby, Julian. "The Principle of Parsimony and the Problem of the Mosul School of Metalwork." In: Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World, edited by Venetia Porter and Mariam Rosser-Owen, pp. 11-85. London: I. B . Tauris, 2012; Raby, Julian. "Mosul Metalworkers after the Mongols." In Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq, edited by Rachel Ward, pp. 56–67. Exh. cat. London: Courtauld Gallery, in association with Paul Holberton Publishing, 2014; Deniz Beyazit in Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, Martina Rugiadi, and A.C.S. Peacock. Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2016, pp. 62–65, 74–75, 120, 138–39, 142, 151, 160–61, 209, 232–33, 242–44, 265–67, 273–74, nos. 12a, b, 13a, b, 15, 49, 68, 69, 72, 79, 90, 125, 145, 155, 168a–c, 174b. See also cat. TK [91.1.561].

2. The inscription, in Arabic, reads, "Work of ‘Umar ibn Jaldak, student [ghulam] of Ahmad al-Dhakı al-Naqqash al-Mawsilı in the year six hundred and twenty-three [1226]." Translation from Al-Harithy 2001, p. 357.

3. See Deniz Beyazit in Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, Martina Rugiadi, and A.C.S. Peacock. Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2016, pp. 155–56, no. 85. For another example from Khurasan, see cat. TK[91.1.527a, b].

4. Allan, James W. "Concave or Convex? The Sources of Jaziran and Syrian Metalwork in the 13th Century." In The Art of Syria and the Jazira, 1100–1250, edited by Julian Raby, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, 1985, p. 133. On this ewer, see Al-Harithy 2001. This ewer has preserved its original design, except for the spout, which is a later restoration.

5. Comparable scenes appear in local manuscripts made for the rulers of Mosul. See, for instance, the Aghani Manuscripts; Sheila R. Canby in Canby et al. 2016 (reference in note 1), p. 61, no. 11; see also Hillenbrand, Robert. "The Frontispiece Problem in the Early 13th-Century Kitab al-Aghani." In Central Periphery? Art, Culture and History of the Medieval Jazira (Northern Mesopotamia, 8th–15th Centuries): Papers of the Conference Held at the University of Bamberg, 31 October–2 November 2012, edited by Lorenz Korn and Martina Mueller-Wiener, pp. 199–227. Studies in Islamic Art and Archeology 2. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2017.

6. The famous Blacas Ewer, dated 1232 (British Museum, London), marks an important turning point for such compositions; see Beyazit in Canby et al. 2016 (reference in note 1), pp. 74–75, no. 15.

Ewer

This is a work of great importance for the history of Islamic art, not only because of its aesthetic quality but also for its inscription. As a matter of fact, it includes the name of the artist, his master, the date of its making, and a reference to the city in which it was produced. The inscription on the lower part of the neck reads: The work of 'Umar ibn al-Hajji Jaldak, the apprentice of Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Naqqash al-Mawsili in the year 623 (A.D. 1226)." Al-Wawsili is a reference to the city of Mosul in Northern Mesopotamia. Several bronze objects by Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Naqqash al-Mawsili have survived. This ewer along with the other objects by al-Naqqash al-Mawsili provides valuable material for art historians in their effort to draw a picture of the development of metalwork production in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. The inscription also includes a long list of good wishes for the owner, although no honorifoc titles are included.

This ewer has an ovoid shape, it stands on a convex foot, and it has a cylindrical neck with a molded and funnelled top. The spout is hexagonal in section, it tapers and ends in a flower-like top.

The decoration is created through chasing, punching, and engraving, and is inlaid with silver. The decorative motifs on the body, which seem to be composed of minuscule elements that resemble lace-work enhanced by the silver inlay, are included within five registars and within barely visible units such as the quatrefoils in the larger register. They consist of inscriptions that include two different formulas of good wishes, floral scrolls, and various figures engaged in pleasurable or heroic activities such as playing musical instruments, drinking, dancing, hunting, and military exercises.

Abdallah Kahil in [Walker et al. 1994]

‘

Inscription: Inscription in Arabic around lower part of neck:
The work of 'Umar ibn al-Hajji Jaldak, the apprentice of Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Naqqash al-Mawsili in the year 623 (A.D. 1226)
(Translation by Abdallah Kahil in Walker et al: 1994)

- Lower part of body: Continuous glory, everlasting prosperity, peaceful life, perfect health, lasting dominion, luxuriant life, ascending good luck, effectual authority, purposeful good omen, and perfection... to its owner
- Below neck: Glory, victory, dominion, dignity, good health, security, virtue, blessing, good health, sufficiency, restfulness, continuance, virtue, pride, happiness, victory over enemies, and forgiveness to the end of (his) life
- Lower part of neck: Made by `Umar bin al-Hajji Jaldak, the apprentice of Ahmad al-Zaki al-Naqqash al-Mawsili in the year 623
(Translation by Yassir al-Tabba, 1978)

- Around lower part of neck: Work of Barr (?) ibn al -Hajji Jaldak, slave (or disciple ) of Ahmad ad-Daki, engraver of Mosul in the year 623
- Around shoulder (partly obliterated): Glory, Prosperity, fortune, Happiness...
- Graffito on bottom: Dar `Afif al Muzaffari, House of `Afif Al-Muzzaffari
(Translation FED)

Edward C. Moore (American), New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)

de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Exhibition of Islamic Art," February 24, 1937–March 22, 1937, no. 190.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 79.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. pp. 111–12, ill. fig. 51 (b/w).

Aga-Oglu, Mehmet. "M. H. De Young Memorial Museum, February 24 to March 22, 1937." In Exhibition of Islamic Art. San Francisco, 1937. no. 190, p. 56, ill.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Muhammadan Art. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. p. 144, ill. fig. 85 (b/w).

Baer, Eva. Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1983. pp. 100, 102, ill. fig. 77 (b/w).

Soucek, Priscilla, ed. Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World : papers from a colloquium in memory of Richard Ettinghausen, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Monographs on the fine arts, vol. 44. University Park, PA: College Art Association of America, 1988. pp. 223, 250–51, ill. figs. 14–16.

Grabar, Oleg. "1989 Andrew W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts." In Intermediary Demons Toward a Theory of Ornament. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1989. p. 36, ill. fig. 25 (b/w).

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahil, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 79, pp. 202–3, ill. (b/w).

Al-Harithy, Howyda N. "The Ewer of Ibn Jaldask (623/1226)." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Bulletin of The School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 64, No. 3 (2001). pp. 357–64, ill. figs.1–8 (b/w).

Beyazit, Deniz. Collecting Inspiration : Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., edited by Medill Higgins Harvey. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. no. 108, pp. 172–73, ill.