Ewer decorated with female figures

Weight: 1167.4 g.

On the body of the vessel are three female figures, each holding a pair of attributes: a flower and a bird, a peacock and a pyxis, and a child and a bowl of fruit. Each figure stands on a short, isolated “ground line.” The figures are in three-quarter view. They have halos and topknots, and are dressed in a similar fashion. The figures wear a tight-fitting, long-sleeved garment whose fabric is decorated with a ring-punched pattern. A scarf or shawl is draped round the figure in front, at the upper thigh; the ends are wrapped around the forearms and fall in thick folds around the legs. The heads of the figures are adorned with a tiara-like headband which bears a central circular ornament, and they wear a necklace and earrings.

Historical period(s)
Sasanian period, 6th-7th century
Medium
Silver and gilt
Dimensions
H x W x D (overall): 32.5 x 15.2 x 12.3 cm (12 13/16 x 6 x 4 13/16 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.118a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ewer

Keywords
bird, child, flower, fruit, Iran, peacock, Sasanian period (ca. 224 - 651), woman
Provenance

To 1967
R. & D. Anavian, Tehran, Iran [1]

From 1967 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York, purchased from R. & D. Anavian on May 2, 1967 [1]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler, New York [2]

Notes:

[1] See invoice for purchase dated May 2, 1967 in object file, Collections Management.

[2] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

R. & D. Anavian
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987

Description

Weight: 1167.4 g.

On the body of the vessel are three female figures, each holding a pair of attributes: a flower and a bird, a peacock and a pyxis, and a child and a bowl of fruit. Each figure stands on a short, isolated "ground line." The figures are in three-quarter view. They have halos and topknots, and are dressed in a similar fashion. The figures wear a tight-fitting, long-sleeved garment whose fabric is decorated with a ring-punched pattern. A scarf or shawl is draped round the figure in front, at the upper thigh; the ends are wrapped around the forearms and fall in thick folds around the legs. The heads of the figures are adorned with a tiara-like headband which bears a central circular ornament, and they wear a necklace and earrings.

Label

Among the silver vessels made in Iran during the sixth and seventh centuries were pear-shaped vases and pouring vessels, or ewers, closely related in form and elaborate gilded decoration. The examples displayed here share the theme of females holding symbolic objects. The figures were modeled in part after Roman personifications of the Seasons and Months, and representations of female attendants in the cult of Dionysos, the Greek god of wine and ecstatic experience.

Published References
  • Jeffrey Spier, Timothy Potts, Sara Cole. Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World—Exhibition Highlights. Exh. cat. Los Angeles, CA, 2022. p. 2 and 45, fig. 33.
  • Ann C. Gunter. The Art of Eating and Drinking in Ancient Iran. vol. 1, no. 2 New York. pp. 6, 48.
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales. Silk Road Saga: The Sarcophagus of Yu Hong. p. 17.
  • Annette Hagedorn. Islamic Art. Germany. p. 30.
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 45-46.
  • Ann C. Gunter, Paul Jett. Ancient Iranian Metalwork in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and Mainz, Germany, 1992. cat. 36, pp. 45, 198-201.
  • et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 23b, pp. 52-53.
  • Near Eastern Studies: Dedicated to H.I.H. Prince Takahito Mikasa on the Ocassion of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday. Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan Wiesbaden. cat. 3, pp. 67-84.
  • America's Smithsonian: Celebrating 150 Years. Washington, 1996. p. 96.
  • Donald S. Lopez Jr, Rebecca Bloom. Hyecho's Journey: The World of Buddhism. Chicago, December 2017. p. 202, fig. 22.
  • Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World. Exh. cat. Los Angeles, April 26, 2022. p. 331, figs 180a-181c.
  • Daniel T. Potts, Kate Masia-Redford. Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford handbooks Oxford, New York. p. 933, fig. 48.4.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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