Ewer with Protruding Lip

Unknown

8th century · Bronze; cast · Islamic Art

A common feature of ewers made in the early Islamic period is the highly abstracted animal heads at each end of the handle. The protruding horizontal lip is also reminiscent of animal morphology and appears on ewers depicted on post-Sasanian silver plates. Although perhaps not as visually spectacular as similarly shaped late antique silver vessels, bronze ewers such as these had significant material value in their own right as hefty pieces of worked metal.

Artist

Unknown

Date

8th century

Medium

Bronze; cast

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Richard Ettinghausen, 1978