Basin

Basin, brass richly inlaid with silver, made for the Ayyubid Sultan Ayyub of Egypt (637-47/1239-49) and, at times, also of Syria (Damascus). Decorations include inscriptions in large Naskhi and plaited Kufic. Part of the silver inlay has fallen out, especially in the inscription of the interior; none are left on the inner bottom.

Historical period(s)
Ayyubid period, Reign of Sultan Najmal-Din Ayyub, 1247-1249
Medium
Brass, inlaid with silver
Dimensions
H x W x D: 22.5 x 50 x 50 cm (8 7/8 x 19 11/16 x 19 11/16 in)
Geography
Syria, Probably Damascus
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1955.10
On View Location
Freer Gallery 04: Engaging the Senses
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Basin

Keywords
Ayyubid period (1171 - 1250), kufic script, naskh script, Syria
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Basin, brass richly inlaid with silver, made for the Ayyubid Sultan Ayyub of Egypt (637-47/1239-49) and, at times, also of Syria (Damascus). Decorations include inscriptions in large Naskhi and plaited Kufic. Part of the silver inlay has fallen out, especially in the inscription of the interior; none are left on the inner bottom.

Label

Inscriptions on the interior and exterior of this extraordinary basin suggest that it was created during the reign of Sultan al-Malik al-Salih Najmuddin Ayyub, the last Ayyubid ruler, who reigned during the 1230s and 1240s.  The work is particularly notable for its elaborate decoration which includes both Islamic and Christian themes.  On the exterior, a wide inscription band depicts scenes from the life of Christ: the Annunciation, the Virgin and Child enthroned, the Raising of Lazarus, the Entry into Jerusalem, and perhaps the Last Supper. Some of the other motifs on the exterior consists of a lively polo game and a band of real and imaginary animals, punctuated by medallions with musicians.  On the interior, a row of thirty-nine saints stands under ogival arches. Whether commissioned by a Muslim or Christian patron, the combination implies religious tolerance in thirteenth-century Ayyubid Syria.

Published References
  • Janine Sourdel-Thomine. Die Kunst des Islam. Propyläen-Kunstgeschichte Berlin. fig. 38.
  • Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre, Fredrik Robert Martin. Die Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedanischer Kunst in Muchen, 1910. 3 vols., Munich. vols. 1-2, pp. 6-8, pl. 147.
  • Repertoire Chronologique d'Epigraphie Arabe. cat. 3977.
  • Patrick Frank. Prebles' Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts., 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. fig. 288.
  • Ulker Erginsoy. Islam Maden Sanatinin Gelismesi [The Development of the Art of Metalwork in Islam]. Istanbul. figs. 156a-c.
  • Eva Baer. Ayyubid Metalwork with Christian Images. Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture Leiden and New York. .
  • Gaston Migeon. Exposition des Arts Musulmans: au Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Exh. cat. Paris. pls. 11-12.
  • Treasure House of the Middle East. vol. 8, no. 19 Beirut, May 9, 1957. p. 11.
  • Freer Gallery of Art. The Freer Gallery of Art. Washington. p. 14.
  • Stefano Bianca. Syria: Medieval Citadels Between East and West. Turin. p. 35, fig. 25.
  • Rachel Ward. Islamic Metalwork. Eastern Art Series London. pp. 52-3, 85, fig. 35, 64.
  • Ranee A. Katzenstein, Glenn D. Lowry. Christian Themes in Thirteenth-Century Islamic Metalwork. vol. 1 Leiden, 1983. pp. 54-66, pls. 3-4.
  • Calendar of Exhibitions. vol. 16, no. 9 Hong Kong, September 1985. p. 63.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 27, pp. 64-68.
  • Margaret S. Graves. Arts of Allusion: Object, Ornament, and Architecture in Medieval Islam. New York. p. 82, fig. 2.15.
  • Eva Baer. Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art. Albany. pp.120-1,149,182, fig. 100, 126.
  • Thomas Lawton, Linda Merrill. Freer: a legacy of art. Washington and New York, 1993. p. 120, fig. 81.
  • , Eric Delpont, Aurelie Fauret, Yannis Koikas. L'Orient de Saladin: L'Art des Ayyoubides. Exh. cat. Paris, October 23, 2001 - March 10, 2002. p. 129.
  • Laura Schnieder. Freer Canteen. vol. 9 Washington and Ann Arbor. pp. 137-156, pl. 6, fig. 19.
  • Dr. Esin Atil, W. Thomas Chase, Paul Jett. Islamic Metalwork in the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington, 1985. cat. 18, p. 137.
  • Yousif Mahmud Ghulam. The Art of Arabic Calligraphy., 2nd rev. ed. Lafayette, California. pp. 186-199.
  • , Eva Baer, David Nicolle, Barbara Schmitz, Oliver Watson. The Art of the Saljuqs in Iran and Anatolia. Costa Mesa, California. p. 218, fig. 215.
  • Antony Eastmond. Tamita's World: The Life and Encounters of a Medieval Noblewoman from the Middle East to Mongolia. Cambridge, United Kingdom. p. 222, fig. 70 and plate 70.
  • October Events at the Smithsonian: Smithsonian Highlights. vol. 16, no. 7 Washington, October 1985. p. 225.
  • Arenberg: Portrait of a Family, Story of a Collection. Belgium. p. 342, fig. 34.E.
  • Richard Ettinghausen, O. Graber. The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. The Pelican History of Art Hammondsworth, United Kingdom and New York. p. 371, fig. 392.
  • D.S. Rice. Studies in Islamic Metalwork, II. no. 15. p. 572, pl. 9b.
  • Islamic Art and Archaeology: Collected Papers. Berlin. p. 1174.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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