A PAHLAVI SILVER REPOUSSÉ KASHKUL BEGGING BOWL
Possibly Isfahan, Iran, mid-20th century

Of uneven oblong oval shape, with an opening at the top in the form of a paisley leaf and a gourd-shaped protuberance on one side of the body with a slender spout, the repoussé body enhanced with three decorative registers including rose and lotus flower sprays around the rim; a thuluth script Shi'a invocation (Hazrat-e 'Ali) around the body; and a dense floral bloom with foliage on the base, in a fashion typical of 20th-century Isfahan and Shiraz silver productions; an axe and a kashkul begging bowl symbolising Sufi wandering dervishes located next to the spout, stamped with "95 Taleb" indicating the degree of silver purity and the maker's name, 14.5cm x 8cm, 303gr.

The inscription around the body of this silver kashkul is the renowned invocation to 'Ali, revered in Shiism as the first Imam and the master of Persian dervishes.