Islamic Mortar with Anqa al-Mughrib Motif Cast... Lot 509

Islamic Mortar with Anqa al-Mughrib Motif Cast bronze with copper inlay, finely engraved, remnants of a red paint finish. On octagonal ground plan, consol-like, stepped, wide upper and lower rim. The facets alternately decorated with lotus buds and harpy-like creatures in niches. Calligraphy around the upper and lower rims. On the upper rim eight copper-inlaid drop motifs in vegetal vines. Small chipping around the rim, losses in the copper inlay. H 10,6, D 17 cm, weight 4,8 kg. Khorasan, eastern Iran, attributed, 13th century. Literature A similar mortar in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum London, inv.no. M.111-1929. Cf. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World, London 1982, p. 68, fig. 38.