Gilded Bronze Ewer with Mamluk Decoration

Label

These five vessels for food and drink include golden elements that elevate them above everyday tableware. For some, like the Polish tankard or the beaker with eight sibyls, the gilding adds to the significance of the decorative subject: the tankard bears the coat-of-arms of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, while the sibyls on the beaker are Grecian prophetesses who were believed to predict the birth of Christ. Similarly, the gilded border on the Sèvres porcelain plate reflects the luxury of the Palace of Versailles in France on an object that could be collected to evoke memories of a past trip or to function as a form of imaginary travel.

A combination of technical expertise and valuable material could also elevate a common object, such as a cup or ewer. Czech glassmakers honed the ability to enclose thin sheets of gold between two layers of blown glass to craft highly desirable pieces like the beaker with Saint Mark, here shown with its protective case. The elaborately decorated ewer, in contrast, was the product of makers from several different geographic traditions—not only the Netherlandish metalworkers who cast the body and the Syrian artisans who added the engraved and punched decoration but also the later 19th-century gilder who adapted the ewer to suit changing tastes that favored bright gold surfaces.

From the 2024 exhibition Gold: Materiality, Morality, and Metaphor, curated by Ashley Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

History 5.08, African and African American Studies 19.01, Africa and the World, Robby Zeinstra, Fall 2023

History 5.08, African and African American Studies 19.01, Africa and the World, Robby Zeinstra, Fall 2023

Art History 28.01, The Global Renaissance, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Spring 2024

Art History 2.01, Introduction to Art History II, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub and Mary Coffey, Winter 2025

Italian 21.01, Early Italian Literature and Culture, Danielle Callegari, Winter 2025

Italian 37.12, Premodern Italy and Food, Danielle Callegari, Winter 2025

Art History 28.01, The Global Renaissance, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2025

History 4.02, Introduction to Early Islamic History, Aseel Najib, Spring 2025

Religion 16.01/Middle Eastern Studies 6.02, An Introduction to Islam, Zahra Ayubi, Spring 2025

Exhibition History

Gold: Materiality, Morality, and Metaphor, Harrington Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 14, 2024.

Publication History

Theuerkauff-Liderwald, Anna-Elisabeth. Mittelalterliche Bronze-und Messinggefässe: Eimer-KannenLavabokessel. Bronzegeräte des Mittelalters 4. Deutscher Verlag für Kuntwissenschaft: Berlin, 1988, p. 243; cat. no. 288, p. 305.

Provenance

Rainer Zietz Ltd., London, 1983; collection of Jan Dirven, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, by 1988; Christie's, "Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets," London, October 27, 2022, lot 24; sold to Sam Fogg Ltd., London, October 2022; sold to present collection, 2023.

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