AN ENGRAVED TINNED COPPER SAFAVID TAS BOWL WITH... Lot 245

AN ENGRAVED TINNED COPPER SAFAVID TAS BOWL WITH THE NAMES OF THE TWELVE SHI'A IMAMS Iran, late 17th - early 18th century Of compressed globular shape, resting on a concave plain base, rising to a short flared neck, with a gently everted reinforced rim, the exterior densely engraved with three main overlapping decorative registers, the body featuring a gridwork in reserve with superimposed cusped palmettes, either plain or in-filled with floral sprays and foliage, the shoulders with narrow epigraphic cartouches in nasta'liq script alternating rosette sprays and three-lobed arabesque-like vegetal scrolls, and the neck showcasing a wide, dense epigraphic band in nasta'liq script bearing the names of the Twelve Shi'a Imams against a hatched ground infilled with a black substance (bitumen or conifer resin), 21cm diam. and 14.5cm high.