28th Oct, 2022 11:00

Islamic Art - Property of a European Collector Part IV

 
  Lot 1
 

A CAST OPENWORK BRONZE INCENSE BURNER IN THE SHAPE OF A LION
Eastern Iran or Afghanistan, the body 11th - 12th century, the head, neck, and tail later additions

A CAST OPENWORK BRONZE INCENSE BURNER IN THE SHAPE OF A LION
Eastern Iran or Afghanistan, the body 11th - 12th century, the head, neck, and tail
later additions

Cast in a zoomorphic feline shape, standing on all fours in a slightly crouched posture, with large rounded paws almost reminiscent of horse hooves, the feline head hinged to the chest and opening towards the front, the face with several striking details including protruding, pointy, bared fangs, chased whiskers, a ridged nose, hollow almond-shaped eyes, and curved ears with rounded ends, the mane and neck decorated with an openwork band of knotwork and floral designs, the body pierced throughout with intertwined scrolls, the upward pointing tail with a stylised pierced foliate motif with serrated contours, the belly with three regular circular holes, 22.5cm x 22.1cm x 6cm.

Zoomorphic openwork bronze incense burners are perhaps among the most iconic metalwork creations of the Seljuk period in Iran. Each element of these figurines used to be cast individually and then attached with solder; only the head remained removable so that incense could be inserted and lit, perfuming the air through the holes on the body (Francesca Leoni in Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011, p. 129). In the 11th and 12th centuries, felines like lions and sphinxes appear to have been the most popular subjects, but birds of prey were also common (please see Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs, 2016, cat. 34, p. 105). These incense burners were technically accomplished and well-executed works often presenting an elaborate decorative program combining openwork patterns and epigraphic bands in Kufic. They not only showcase the genius and talent of Seljuk blacksmiths but also cast light on domestic practices in the most affluent households of Seljuk society. In fact, their zoomorphic attributes made them unsuitable in a religious context provoking controversy and disrespect to the iconic proscription mentioned in the religious corpus of the hadiths.

Some of these lion-shaped incense burners feature dates and signatures of their makers. The earliest known example was excavated at the site of Khul'buk in Tajikistan in an 11th-century level. Several other examples are now part of renowned international museum collections like the Cleveland Museum of Art (no. 1948.308.a), the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (no. IR-1565), the David Collection in Copenhagen (no. 48/1981), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (no. 1951.51.56), and the Louvre Museum in Paris (no. 1933, AA.19). The MET incense burner is the largest of the group (85.1cm x 22.9cm) and is inscribed with the date 577 AH (1181 - 1182) and the signature of its maker, Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali. The Hermitage 11th-century example is also signed by an artist named 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Taji. Similarly to the present lot and to the Louvre 11th-century burner, the Hermitage lion's paws have been shaped as flattened horses' hooves; the legs are slightly bent in a pouncing mode; and the body presents dense scrollwork throughout the chest and on the rear and front legs. Another analogous feline burner, whose body is almost identical to ours, was offered at Sotheby's London, 24 October 2007, lot 87. The Louvre example is the only one in the above-mentioned group presenting turquoise opaque glass-inlaid eyes, leading to suggest a place of origin near one of the glass production centres in Iran like Nishapur (Annabelle Collinet in Islamic Art at the Musée du Louvre, 2012, p. 111).

The floriated tail on this lot presents areas of resoldering, which indicate a restoration of the original element or a later replacement. The patina and oxidisation on the surface of the tail are consistent with the rest of the body (except head and neck), suggesting a similar dating. Thus, the tail could either be original but later restored or an individual piece from a different but contemporary incense burner added at a later stage. The tail's design and decoration of our incense burner are analogous to a number of other lion-shaped bronze examples such as the one in the Khalili Collection (no. MTW 1525); two offered at Sotheby's London, 9 April 2008, lot 114, and more recently, 27 October 2021, lot 191; and Christie's London, 6 October 2009, lot 21. All of these 12th-century examples feature composite tails issuing dense vegetal scrollwork and a looped 'sting' whilst most felines have now lost theirs or have simpler tails. Although the head and neck of our example are a later addition, their design follows the artistic canon of Seljuk creations with thick moustaches, eyelashes, a faceted nose, and protruding spiky fangs. The Mongol invasion brought an abrupt end to the production of these zoomorphic incense burners, but their iconic features and unequivocal design lingered in the arts of medieval Iranian metalwork as a testament to their success and aesthetic accomplishment.

Sold for £11,250

Includes Buyer's Premium


 

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