- 125
A rare Ilkhanid or Timurid engraved steel shield, Persia, 14th century
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- steel shield with leather protection to inside
curved with hammered design forming a six-sided stellar composition with engraved and incised decoration comprising entwining arabesques, inscribed along external border, the reverse with original leather protective guard and arm band
Condition
In general good condition, some oxidisation and resulting rust to underside of shield, the remaining leather protection with staining, one of arm bands broken, the front missing central finial, with some rubbing to surface decoration as consistent with age and use, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
inscriptions
Undecipherable
Bucklers or small shields were usually used by infantry or warriors for single combat, with the sword in one hand and the buckler in the other. One example of such single combat with bucklers is depicted on an engraved illustration of a fourteenth-century Fars bowl (See Elgood 1979, p.101). Another example is depicted in a Furusiyya manual entitled 'The Ultimate Search to Acquire the Methods of Knighthood' by Muhammed Ibn Ismail al-Hanafi al-Asdkaray dated 1371 in which the knight bears and balances a buckler on his shoulder (see Alexander 1996, p.78,cat.67).
Whether the present shield is of Ilkhanid or Timurid origin, it was designed with an aesthetic taste that was clearly influenced by the Mongols, whose conquests over most of Western Asia led to the formation of the Ilkhanid Empire. The similarity of this shield with the Ilkhanid style becomes evident when compared to the frontispiece of an Ilkhanid Qur'an, dated 1313 in the Cairo National Library, 72, pt 23, ff.IV-2r, which displays the same combination of interlocking geometric shapes based on a stellar pattern with enclosing entwining split palmettes (see E. Baer, Islamic Ornament, Edinburgh, 1998, p.83).
For examples of this type of shield in action, one must turn to illustrated miniatures, notably one representing 'Mahmud of Ghazna's Conquest of India', from the jami al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) by Rashid al-Din, Tabriz, dated 1314-15 AD, Edinburgh University Library (MS Arab 20). For further examples see L. Komaroff & S. Carboni, The Legacy of Genghis Khan, Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1354, Exh. Cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002, p.146, fig. 172, p. 152, fig. 178, p. 163, fig. 191.
Undecipherable
Bucklers or small shields were usually used by infantry or warriors for single combat, with the sword in one hand and the buckler in the other. One example of such single combat with bucklers is depicted on an engraved illustration of a fourteenth-century Fars bowl (See Elgood 1979, p.101). Another example is depicted in a Furusiyya manual entitled 'The Ultimate Search to Acquire the Methods of Knighthood' by Muhammed Ibn Ismail al-Hanafi al-Asdkaray dated 1371 in which the knight bears and balances a buckler on his shoulder (see Alexander 1996, p.78,cat.67).
Whether the present shield is of Ilkhanid or Timurid origin, it was designed with an aesthetic taste that was clearly influenced by the Mongols, whose conquests over most of Western Asia led to the formation of the Ilkhanid Empire. The similarity of this shield with the Ilkhanid style becomes evident when compared to the frontispiece of an Ilkhanid Qur'an, dated 1313 in the Cairo National Library, 72, pt 23, ff.IV-2r, which displays the same combination of interlocking geometric shapes based on a stellar pattern with enclosing entwining split palmettes (see E. Baer, Islamic Ornament, Edinburgh, 1998, p.83).
For examples of this type of shield in action, one must turn to illustrated miniatures, notably one representing 'Mahmud of Ghazna's Conquest of India', from the jami al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) by Rashid al-Din, Tabriz, dated 1314-15 AD, Edinburgh University Library (MS Arab 20). For further examples see L. Komaroff & S. Carboni, The Legacy of Genghis Khan, Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1354, Exh. Cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002, p.146, fig. 172, p. 152, fig. 178, p. 163, fig. 191.