Title: Boat-shaped Cup
Date: 6th or 7th century AD
Location: Sasanian Iran
Materials: silver, cast, engraved and worked in relief, with niello and gilding
Dimensions: 6.2 x 20 x 10cm
Accession Number: MTW 921
Other Notes:
Silver boat-shaped cups, as described by medieval Persian authors, played an important part in pre-Islamic Iran as vessels for Zoroastrian ceremonies. In the late Sasanian and early Islamic periods, they were also made in high-tin bronze.
The shape of this cup is of Chinese origin. The decoration, however, is in the Roman tradition, with animals and human figures ‘inhabiting’ foliate scrolls, which remained popular in the eastern Roman world, particularly in mosaics, until the 6th century.
Bibliography:
J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.13, p.39.
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