A Safavid talismanic bronze bowl, Persia, 17th century

of rounded form with a raised central boss, chiselled with a calligraphic inscription, the cavetto engraved with overlapping roundels on a calligraphic ground, the rim with minor calligraphic bands, the exterior with twelve cusped roundels enclosing the zodiacal signs bordered by scrolling and calligraphic bands suspension loop added to the rim

inscriptions

Invocations to the Prophet and ‘Ali; Qur’anic quotation including Qur’an Surah al-Kafirun (CIX), Surah al-Ikhlas (CXII), Surah al-Falaq (CXIII) and Surah al-Nas (CXIV); call to God to bless ‘The Fourteen Innocents’; talismanic and magic inscriptions protecting the owner.