Safavid Pitcher Jug
Iran
A vessel constructed along a vertical axis, the volume organised through a conical lower body rising into a cylindrical neck and terminating in a flared, scalloped rim, with a handle extending from the shoulder to the upper rim.
Description
The handle rises in a single curve from the shoulder to the upper rim, riveted at both points and aligned with the vessel’s vertical structure. The neck is organised in vertical lobed panels filled with dense interlace scrollwork. A narrow interlace band encircles the shoulder, followed by a band of pointed, downward-facing petal motifs. The body is crossed by a broad central frieze of dense floral scrollwork containing a bird in profile, rendered with a long sweeping tail. The lower body repeats the neck’s vertical lobed-panel treatment immediately above the foot.
Surface is compact and stable. Tinning is retained across most of the surface, worn through in patches at the shoulder band and along a vertical seam, exposing the copper body beneath. Engraving remains intact.
Context
Vessels of this type function within Safavid courtly and domestic contexts.
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Iran, 1968.
Details
- Title
- Safavid Pitcher Jug
- Culture
- Safavid
- Origin
- Iran
- Date
- 17th century
- Dimensions
- H 37 cm (14.6 in) · D 24 cm (9.4 in)
- Medium
- Tinned copper with engraving
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Iran, 1968.
- Condition
- Tinning retained with copper exposed at wear points; engraving intact.
