A RARE TIMURID TINNED-COPPER DISH WITH THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
PERSIA, 15th CENTURY
Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000
Auction: Islamic Art | Lots 1 to 66 | 12 June at 10am
Description
of shallow form with slightly rounded sides and narrow flattened rim, profusely incised, chased and decorated with four oval-shaped cartouches containing inscriptions in thuluth, alternating with circular medallions with cross-hatching designs, the inner narrow band below the rim decorated with medallions containing various figures representing the 12 signs of the Zodiac, with cross-hatching design alternating with floral motifs
Dimensions
33.8cm (13 ¼in) diameter
Provenance
Acquired from the London art market in the 1970s.
UK Private Collection.
Footnote
Text:
In large thuluth in the four cartouches:
‘Glory to our lord the greatest sultan, the glorified Khaqan, the possessor of the necks of
nations, the sultan of the sultans of the Arabs and the Persians.’
In naskh, in the circle around the centre, repeated:
‘May the Creator of the World protect [you]’
Footnote:
The craftsmanship of the chasing and engraving is of very fine quality. The inclusion of the signs of the Zodiac is rare on metalwork dating to the Timurid period. The same representations of the Zodiac can be found on an earlier piece (see, A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, 8-18th centuries, London,1982, no. 83).
For the same inscriptions on pieces of this period, see op. cit, pp. 253, 255, 256.