Begging Bowl

Kashkul, or Begging Bowl

Most begging bowls (kashkuls) from the later Islamic period display a great deal of inticate carving and ornamentation, suggesting that they may have served a primarily decorative or symbolic function.

The skillful craftmanship of this fire-gilded silver Turkoman kashul, ornately decorated with carnelians, turquoises, and tassels and exhibiting the bold and dynamic design of Turkoman jewelry, suggests that this alms bowl may likewise have been intended for symbolic or decorative use. In spite of the tension between these nomadic tribes and the Qajar dynasty in the nineteenth century, Turkomans contributed significantly to artistic production, especially that of jewelry and textiles in Iran.[36]

Ladan Akbarnia in [Akbarnia and Leoni 2010]

Footnotes:

36. This object, described more specifically by Layla Diba as a drinking bowl commonly carried by water-sellers in eastern Turkey, appears in a publication on Turkoman silver jewelry from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Diba, Layla S., Turkmen Jewelry. Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011, p. 224.

Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf, Toronto, Canada (until 2007; gifted to MMA)

New York. Brooklyn Museum. "Light of the Sufis : an introduction to the mystical arts of Islam," June 5, 2009–September 6, 2009, no. 8b.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Light of the Sufis : an introduction to the mystical arts of Islam," May 16, 2010–August 8, 2010, no. 8b.

Akbarnia, Ladan, and Francesca Leoni. "The Mystical Arts of Islam." In Light of the Sufis. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2010. no. 8b, pp. 28–9, ill. p. 29 (color).

Diba, Layla S. "Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection." In Turkmen Jewelry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. no. 188, p. 225, ill. (color).