An Islamic mortar with an Anqa al-Mughrib motif - image-1

Lot 509 Dα

An Islamic mortar with an Anqa al-Mughrib motif

Auction 1174 - overview Cologne
04.06.2021, 10:00 - Highly Important Mortars from the Schwarzach Collection III
Estimate: 2.000 € - 3.000 €
Result: 2.125 € (incl. premium)
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An Islamic mortar with an Anqa al-Mughrib motif

Cast bronze with copper inlays and finely engraved decoration, remnants of red pigment. Of octagonal section with protruding tiered upper and lower rims. The facets decorated with alternating lotus bud and harpy-like motifs in niches. The upper and lower rims with calligraphic inscriptions. The upper rim inlaid in copper with eight droplet motifs amid meandering foliage. Minor breakages to the edges, losses to the copper inlays. H 10.6, D 17 cm, weight 4.8 kg.
Attributed to Khorasan, Eastern Iran, 13th C.

Literature

Cf. a similar mortar in the Victoria and Albert Museum London, inv. no. M.111-1929.
Cf. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, London 1982, p. 68, illus. 38.