Begging Bowl

Unknown

late 19th–early 20th century · Silver; fire-gilded with applied silver chain decoration, carnelians and turquoises, and tassels. · Islamic Art

Begging bowls, or kashkuls, were used by traveling dervishes, serving as receptacles for alms. Islamic mendicant dervishes are associated with Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, thanks to which Islam was dispersed around much of Central Asia. Originally, kashkuls were made of a large nutshell from the Seychelles islands known as coco-de-mer; this piece is made of silver echoing the typical nutlike kashkul shape. It is decorated with carnelians in diamond and teardrop shapes, turquoise, and a silver chain with tassels.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th–early 20th century

Medium

Silver; fire-gilded with applied silver chain decoration, carnelians and turquoises, and tassels.

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf, 2007