Metalwork

The al-Sabah Collection contains almost two thousand items of metalwork ranging from elaborately worked vessels inlaid with precious metals to simply cast bronze finials in the form of animals.  Islamic metalworkers, whether in Cairo or Herat, often fashioned relatively simple forms covered the surface in dazzling engraved or precious metal-inlaid patterns of arabesque interlace, processions of animals or long benedictory inscriptions. Objects with calligraphy as decoration occur more frequently in metalwork than any other medium used for objects of utility. These range from benedictory inscriptions to verses from the Qur’an to lines of poetry, and sometimes include the signatures of the artists.

The ancient Near East has a long history of working in copper alloy and bronzes and brasses (copper alloyed with other metals) became the most important material in the pre-Islamic periods.  Objects are almost invariably sculpturally powerful. In the hands of skilled artists, everyday objects such as oil lamps or incense burners became works of art. Brass was especially popular in the Mamluk domains.  In the later period, especially in Iran and India, steel was used for decorative purposes; despite its hardness, it could be cut in openwork patterns, such as arabesques and calligraphic compositions as delicate as lace.

The al-Sabah Collection contains almost two thousand items of metalwork ranging from elaborately worked vessels inlaid with precious metals to simply cast bronze finials in the form of animals. 

Islamic metalworkers, whether in Cairo or Herat, often fashioned relatively simple forms covered the surface in dazzling engraved or precious metal-inlaid patterns of arabesque interlace, processions of animals or long benedictory inscriptions. Objects with calligraphy as decoration occur more frequently in metalwork than any other medium used for objects of utility. These range from benedictory inscriptions to verses from the Qur’an to lines of poetry, and sometimes include the signatures of the artists.

The ancient Near East has a long history of working in copper alloy and bronzes and brasses (copper alloyed with other metals) became the most important material in the pre-Islamic periods.  Objects are almost invariably sculpturally powerful. In the hands of skilled artists, everyday objects such as oil lamps or incense burners became works of art. Brass was especially popular in the Mamluk domains.  In the later period, especially in Iran and India, steel was used for decorative purposes; despite its hardness, it could be cut in openwork patterns, such as arabesques and calligraphic compositions as delicate as lace.

LNS 1338 M

Bronze ewer with spirally ribbed body, one rib with a single diminutive scroll. The handle’s ‘thumbrest’ in the form of a palmette, its base terminated by a stylized antelope head

Inv. no. LNS 1338 M
Body and handle separately cast, chased and engraved
Height 38 cm; width 17 cm
East Iranian world, 8th – 9th century AD
2nd – 3rd century AH

LNS 36 M

Brass planispheric astrolabe (the earliest known Islamic example), signed by Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallah (known as ‘Nastulus’) and dated in Arabic letters (abjad numeration) to 315 AH

Inv. no. LNS 36 M
Cast and engraved
Height 22.3 cm; diameter 17.7 cm
Iraq, probably Baghdad, dated 315 AH/927-28 AD

LNS 608 M

Bronze perfume sprinkler decorated with staggered rows of buds

Inv. no. LNS 608 M
Cast
Height 17.8 cm; diameter 10.7 cm
East Iranian world, 9th – 10th century AD
3rd – 4th century AH

LNS 409 M

Bronze incense burner (lid missing) decorated in openwork with scrolling vines, and with handle finial in the form of a poppy fruit

Inv. no. LNS 409 M
Cast in openwork and engraved
Height 7.6 cm; length 28.5 cm
East Iranian world, 9th – 10th century AD
3rd – 4th century AH

LNS 992 M

Reticulated double-walled bronze bottle with bands of undulating half-palmette scrolls, and a prominent band with good wishes to the owner in Kufic script

Inv. no. LNS 992 M
Cast in openwork and engraved
Height 22 cm; diameter 13.7 cm
East Iranian world, ca. 11th century AD
ca. 5th century AH

To see more metalwork objects

For information on our metalwork publication Arts of the Hellenized East: Precious Metalwork and Gems of the Pre-Islamic Era

For information on our metalwork publication: Metalwork from the Arab World and the Mediterranean

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LNS 1052 M a,b
Reticulated bronze lamp, with: mounted riders hunting with felines and falcons; representations of the twelve signs of the zodiac and the seven planets, all identified by their names; and good wishes to the owner, all in Kufic script Inv. no. LNS 1052 M a,b Cast in openwork and engraved Height 31.2 cm; diameter 21 cm East Iranian world, ca. 11th century AD ca. 5th century AH
LNS 1136 M a
Bronze dish in the form of a fish (for the serving of fish?), decorated with winged lions, hares, seven-circle rosettes, flutes and a vegetal arabesque Inv. no. LNS 1136 M a Hammered from sheet and worked in repoussé Length 44 cm; width 26.3 cm East Iranian world, 12th century AD 6th century AH
LNS 104 M
Combined silver folding spoon and fork inlaid with niello, with pious inscriptions in Kufic invoking God, and with vegetal arabesques and representations of simurghs and birds Inv. no. LNS 104 M Cast, engraved and inlaid with niello Length 14.8 cm; width 3.2 cm Iranian world, 12th century AD 6th century AH
LNS 82 M
Bronze candlestick inlaid with copper and silver, with salient rows of ducks and seated lions, and invocations of good wishes to the owner in Kufic script Inv. no. LNS 82 M Raised and fabricated from sheet and worked in repoussée, engraved and inlaid Height 31 cm; diameter 33 cm East Iranian world, late 12th - early 13th century AD late 6th - early 7th century AH
LNS 110 M
Brass basin inlaid with silver featuring thuluth inscriptions lauding an (unnamed) officer of al-Malik an-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala’un (r. 693-741 AH/1293-1341 AD, with interruptions), ogives and roundels with flying ducks, and vegetal motifs; later owner’s inscription, one ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad) Inv. no. LNS 110 M Hammered from sheet, engraved and inlaid Height 22.2 cm; diameter 48.3 cm Egypt or Syria, 1st half 14th century AD 1st half 8th century AH
LNS 804 M
Bronze oil lamp with domical lid featuring an openwork plait design, a leaf-shaped spout, and a Kufic inscription wishing ‘Blessing and happiness’ to its owner Inv. no. LNS 804 M Cast in sections, chased, soldered, pierced and engraved Height 14.2 cm; width 26 cm East Iranian world, ca. 10th century AD ca. 4th century AH
LNS 293 M
Parcel gilt bronze divining bowl (central post and rotational element lost), the interior with stellate layout; covered with inscriptions, including passages from the Qur’an, invocations to the twelve Shi‘a imams and inscriptions and numbers of talismanic character; signed and dated by the maker, Husayn Shakani; inscribed after manufacture with an owner’s name, ‘Halim Bayg’ Inv. no. LNS 293 M Cast, with lathe-cut details, engraved and gilded Height 7.5 cm; diameter 22.8 cm India, probably Hyderabad, dated 956 AH/1549-50 AD
LNS 939 M
Bronze incense burner, the openwork body and lid suggesting a domed building, the feet those of a quadruped; inscribed in Kufic script, ‘Blessing to Abi [I]shaq bn ‘Isa, may God prolong his glory’ Inv. no. LNS 939 M Cast, chased, pierced and engraved Height 29 cm; width 19 cm East Iranian world, 10th - 11th century AD 4h - 5th century AH
LNS 1218 M
Bronze incense burner in the form of a stylized feline, cast in intricate openwork to release the incense, with inlaid faience and glass eye, the tail terminating in a floral and avian plaque, the hinged head and neck serving as the lid Inv. no. LNS 1218 M Cast in openwork, chased and engraved, the eyes inlaid with light turquoise-glazed faience, the latter inlaid with a thin slab of turquoise-coloured glass Height 26.5 cm; length 26.6 cm East Iranian world, 11th - 12th century AD 5th - 6th century AH
LNS 28 M
Gilded bronze belt or harness fitting with representation in openwork of a mounted bowman about to shoot a serpentine-bodied dragon, with a cheetah perching on the horse’s croup; remains of four loops on the back for attachment to a strap Inv. no. LNS 28 M Cast in openwork, chased, engraved and gilded Diameter 6.4 cm; thickness 0.3 cm Iranian world, 11th - 12th century AD 5th - 6th century AH
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