Luxury Ewer Extending Good Fortune to the Owner
Details
- Author / creator
- Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Mawsili (Iraqi, Mosul, active early 1200s?)
- Object type
- Metalwork
- Date or period
- 1223
- Dimensions summary
- Diameter: 26.6 cm; Overall: 37.9 cm; Diameter of base: 14.5 cm
- Maker or workshop
- Ahmad al-Dhaki al-Mawsili
- Period / style
- Gothic
About this object
This silver inlaid ewer was produced for luxury clientele. The wide band around the body of the vessel displays vignettes of daily and courtly life contained within multilobed medallions. Some of the scenes feature falconry, hunting, dancing, and several groups of musicians. All these scenes are set off against a skillfully executed arabesque background—a pervasive motif in Islamic art characterized by interwoven vegetal and curvilinear elements. An inscription around the ewer’s shoulder extends good fortune, prosperity, and peace to the owner. The ewer is dated 1223 and signed by the master craftsman Ahmad al-Dhaki of Mosul.
Materials and technique
Brass inlaid with silver; lid and base added later
Signature and marks
The year 620 on the Islamic calendar is the equivalent of 1223 on the Gregorian calendar.: Band on the neck (naskh): "Work of Ahmad al-Thaki, the engraver, al-Mawsili, in the year 620 and glory to my owner"; band at the base of the handle (naskh): "Work of Ahmad al-Thaki al-Mawsili"; graffiti of later owners, roughly scratched into the neck of the ewer: "Husayn ibn Qasim"; "Usta al-Muhtasib [?]"; band on the shoulder of the ewer (plaited, animated kufic): "Good luck, and learning, and commanding respect, and prosperity, and pride, and generosity, and faithfulness, and affection, and glory, and survival, and justice, and blessings, and exaltedness, and prosperity, and everlasting peace, and charitable giving."; band on the foot (naskh) [foot is a later addition]; this inscription has not yet been deciphered.
