Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs and Carpets

A nielloed silver dish with inscription, Persia or Central Asia, 11th/12th century

Auction Closed

March 30, 12:47 PM GMT

Estimate

30,000 - 50,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

of rounded shape with a flat base, the everted flat rim with three nielloed inscriptions interspersed by a palmette

29cm. diam.

Please note that there may be restrictions on the import of property of Iranian origin into the USA and some or all member countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council. Any buyers planning to import property of Iranian origin into any of these countries should satisfy themselves of the relevent import regime. Sotheby's will not assist buyers with the shipment of such items into the USA or the GCC. In addition, FedEx and US courier services will no longer carry Iranian-origin goods to any location. Any shipment services would need to be provided by a Fine Art shipping company.

Private collection, London.
G. Livont, 1974-2005.
Professor Alexander Livontas (1920-74), Lithuania, 1950s.
By repute, ex-collection Seraya Szapszal, Lithuania, 1st half 20th century.

inscriptions

‘Glory and prosperity and wealth and well-being to its owner al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Hasan, helper of the Commander of the Faithful’

The same name al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, (…) helper of al-Nasir Commander of the Faithful, is recorded on an inscription over the door of a mausoleum in Uzgend dated 1152.

The arch above the door of the mausoleum is decorated with thee niches filled with palmettes, the central one resembles in shape the ones found on the current dish. Another comparable for this motif is a tomb marker dated to the twelfth century. Densely carved with geometric bands, it bears two symmetrical palmettes close to those found on the present dish (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no.30.112.45).

In his discussion of a nielloed silver sprinkler and related silver plates Boris Marshak stated the following:

"From the mid-ninth century on, Near Eastern vessel shapes, floral arabesques, and Kufic inscriptions enriched the thesaurus of the East Iranian silversmiths, and all the old Sogdian decorative elements totally disappeared soon after AD 1000. The quasi-architectural composition of friezes and medallions set against a blank ground as well as the nielloed backgrounds of these decorative zones is attested from, probably, the late Samanid period."

Boris I. Marshak, ‘An Early Seljuq Silver Bottle from Siberia’, Muqarnas, vol.21, Essays in Honor of J.M. Rogers, Leiden, 2004, pp.262.