Incense burner, cast brass, engraved and inlaid with silver and gold
Cylindrical incense burners on three legs and with a domed lid were common from Iraq to Egypt in the 13th and 14th century, but are also known from Iran under the Il-Khanids. All had a horizontal handle and contained a tray for charcoal, both of which are usually missing.
The swastika-like motifs, the clothing of the figures drinking wine and making music, and the birds point to the piece having been made in Mongol Iran. A motif like the tortoise, which is also found on the museum’s tapestry roundel (see 30/1995), moreover had a significance in Chinese, but not in Islamic, art.
The swastika-like motifs, the clothing of the figures drinking wine and making music, and the birds point to the piece having been made in Mongol Iran. A motif like the tortoise, which is also found on the museum’s tapestry roundel (see 30/1995), moreover had a significance in Chinese, but not in Islamic, art.