Pear-Shaped Vase

Bottle

Although this bottle may have been produced in the early Islamic period, it is clearly reminiscent of Sasanian metalwork both in shape and decoration. Very rarely do we see bottles like this piece in later periods. SIlver objects of the same shape were popular in the Near East and in Iran since the Hellenistic period, but they were rarely produced after the 9th century. The bottle has a pear-shaped body with a slightly flaring neck terminating in a vertical lip. The foot is low. The decoration is executed in the repoussé technique which consists of hammering the sheet of metal against an anvil into the desired shape. The surface of the bottle is covered by six horizontal rows of a repeated individual motif. This motif is formed by a pair of abstract Sasanian wings with a gilded roundel in the center, surmounted by an abstract crown. A row of bosses separates the body from the plain neck.

Abdallah Kahil in [Walker et al. 1994]

Marking: On base (typed): T114.

[ Mahboubian Gallery of Ancient Art, New York, until 1969; sold to MMA]

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 73.

Musée Cernuschi. "Les Perses Sassanides ou les Fastes d'us empire oublie," September 15, 2006–December 31, 2006.

Asia Society. "Les Perses Sassanides ou les Fastes d'us empire oublie," February 14, 2007–May 20, 2007.

Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 1975). ill. p. 6 (b/w).

Swietochowski, Marie, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina. Notable Acquisitions 1965–1975 (1975). p. 138, ill. (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. 73, pp. 190–91, ill. (b/w).

Demange, Francoise. "Art of Sasanian Iran (224-642)." In Glass, Gilding, & Grand Design. New York: Asia Society, 2007. no. 12, p. 45, ill.