Lidded jug, cast brass, engraved and inlaid with silver and gold
A number of jugs of this type from Timurid Iran have been preserved, and although there is a slightly earlier jug of jade, the oldest dated metal pieces are from 1456-1457.
The museum’s jug has an inscription under the base that can be translated as follows: “A work by the impoverished, humble servant Ali ibn Muhammad Ali Shihab al-Ghuri on the first day of the month of Jumada al-akhira in the year 918.” The artist’s nisba denotes that he came from the province of Ghur, east of Herat.
The jug is one of the latest known, and was made after the fall of the Timurids in 1506. The type went out of fashion in Safavid Iran, but survived in a slightly altered form in Ottoman silver work.
The museum’s jug has an inscription under the base that can be translated as follows: “A work by the impoverished, humble servant Ali ibn Muhammad Ali Shihab al-Ghuri on the first day of the month of Jumada al-akhira in the year 918.” The artist’s nisba denotes that he came from the province of Ghur, east of Herat.
The jug is one of the latest known, and was made after the fall of the Timurids in 1506. The type went out of fashion in Safavid Iran, but survived in a slightly altered form in Ottoman silver work.