https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/95666/fullEwer12th or early 13th century10 13/16 × 6 11/16 inches (27.5 × 17 cm)Bronze with silver inlayAcquired through the George and Mary Rockwell Fund2001.0430This cast and engraved copper alloy (bronze?) jug is a splendid example of the later Khorasan school of metalwork. Its precisely worked and extensive silver-inlaid decoration gives the object the impression of luxury.
The voluptuosuly curved body rises from a high flaring foot ring and is decorated with ten vertical facets surrounding the sloping shoulders. Its wide cylindrical neck is seperated from the body by a pronouced moulding and topped by a ribbed domical cover. A crozier-shaped handle is applied below the rim and at the base.
The body bears nine large silver-inlaid ogival medallions interlaced at the sides and terminating in knotted stalks at top and bottom. All are filled iwth interlaced spiralling tendrils terminating in diamond-shaped leaves. The inlaid decoration stands out against a ground of finely incised curling volutes. Small quatrefoils surmout each medallion. A continous epigraphic band in silver-inlaid tall and slender "thulth" script circumscribes the neck. Interwoven with fine silver-inlaid spiralling foliage and framed by silver-inlaid filets, it reads:
'Glory and Prosperity and Wealth, and Endurance, and...'
The handle is inlaid with a guilloche motif extending towards the base as a meandering vine.
The cover's eight radial ribs with projecting buds in each interstice are finely silver-inlaid with almond-shaped cartouches. These contain foliage of the same type as the medallions but are held together here by a crescent-shaped bracket. The cover is crowned with a perching bird with a sinuous neck, outspread silver-inlaid wings and upright tail.
The smooth brown-olive patina of the jug shows traces of pale green oxidation products.Metalwork19921537346Unidentified artistEastern Iranian world, Khorasan regionThe Khorasan region encompassed areas of northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan. From the mid-twelfth century until the Mongol invasions of 1219, Khorasan metalworkers specialized in producing luxury objects of hammered metal with inlaid decoration. On this ewer, the elegant and precise surface designs include arabesques within medallions or cartouches placed so as to enhance the undulating profile of the vessel. A band of calligraphic inlay around the neck conveys auspicious wishes in unbroken repetition: “Glory and prosperity and wealth, and endurance, and….”2001.043.1stview