Inkwell with Cut Decoration

10th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453

The tube descending into this vessel is just wide enough to receive a reed pen and keep the ink from splashing about when the inkwell was suspended from the scribe's wrist or belt by chains attached to its four loop handles. Other inkwells of this type - glass as well as metal or ceramic - have been found in Iran and were probably in use until the twelfth or thirteenth century.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Inkwell with Cut Decoration
Date: 10th century
Geography: Attributed to Iran
Medium: Glass, greenish; blown, applied lip and handles, cut
Dimensions: H. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
Diam. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
Wt. 2.6 oz. (73.7 g)
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1969
Object Number: 69.148
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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