Bowl

Historical period(s)
Mamluk period, 1350s-1400s
Medium
Gilded and enameled glass
Dimensions
H x W: 21 x 35 cm (8 1/4 x 13 3/4 in)
Geography
Syria
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1933.13
On View Location
Freer Gallery 03: Engaging the Senses
Classification(s)
Glass, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Mamluk period (1250 - 1517), Roman Period (30 BCE - 395 CE), Syria
Provenance

To 1933
G. M. Fox, London to 1933 [1]

From 1933
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Eustache de Lorey on behalf of G. M. Fox, London in 1933 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

G. M. Fox

Label

Monumental in scale and exquisitely decorated, this deep bowl is characteristic of the finest glass production in late-fourteenth-century Syria. Its decorative frieze of fantastic animals--two griffins, two sphinxes, a lion, and three unicorns--is punctuated with the five-petal blazons of the Rasulid rulers of Yemen (1228-1454), identifying them as patrons of this vessel. In addition to its impressive size and sophisticated design, the bowl is remarkable for its enameling on both the exterior and interior surfaces.

Published References
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 122-123.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Art of the Arab World. Exh. cat. Washington, 1975. cat. 73, pp. 136-137.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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