A parcel-gilt silver cup, Pontic-Caspian Steppe, Central Asia or Persia, 13th/14th century
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
of rounded form with integral flat foot, with riveted circular ring-handle and thumb rest, the exterior incised with six fine arabesque patterns, the three larger parcel-gilt, with band of incised and parcel-gilt naskh benedictions to the owner against a ring-pounced ground with some incised vine decorations, the inscription banded by a thin geometric lower band and floral upper band, later crudely incised owner’s (?) inscription on foot and band of running birds to the interior
9.5cm. diam.; 4.2cm. height
Ex-collection Theodore Sarmas (1938-2018), London
inscriptions
Around the rim: al-'izz al-da'im wa al-iqbal al-salim wa al-jadd al-sa'id wa al-nasr al-ghalib wa al-'afiya al-kafiyah wa al-dawlah al-da'imah wa al-sa'adah (a) li-sahibihi, ‘Perpetual glory and safe (sic) prosperity and rising good-fortune and triumphant victory and perfect health and perpetual wealth and happiness to its owner’
On the handle: kul haniyyan mariyyan, ‘Eat with enjoyment and fulfilment’
On the base, crudely: 'Haji Yusuf'
An engraved silver cup of comparable size and form was excavated in 1906 in the Kuban River basin, in modern-day Russia. It is attributed to the fourteenth century and now in the Hermitage Museum, St Peterburg (inv. no.KUB-363). In its design, it follows the same principles of the present cup, with the bowl of a single piece of sheet silver, a decorative motif against a ring-pounced ground along the rim, and a scalloped handle, although it lacks the curious flat foot of the present cup. Other cups with technical and decorative similarities to the present cup include two examples in the Khalili Collection (inv. nos.MTW 931, MTW 1388; Spink 2022, pp.646-7).
Compared to the Hermitage cup, the artistry of the present cup is significantly more accomplished. Its geometric vegetal designs and calligraphic rim are carved with a sure precision that compares favourably to some of the finest silver vessels produced for the Golden Horde, while the use of a controlled, flowing naskh represents a confident departure from the pre-Mongol taste for more angular scripts.
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