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31
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Zoomorphic incense burner Eastern Iran or Mesopotamia, 12th-…
See original version (French)
31
-
Zoomorphic incense burner Eastern Iran or Mesopotamia, 12th-…
See original version (French)
Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Zoomorphic incense burner
Eastern Iran or Mesopotamia, 12th-13th century
Cast, openwork and engraved copper alloy. The animal, standing on its four legs, has a hollow body decorated with openwork foliage to diffuse the smoke. The finely carved head features a stylised snout and erect ears. The hinged opening at the junction of the neck and body allowed the embers and perfume to be introduced.
Condition: tail replaced; surface cleaned; chest missing.
Size: 27.5 x 24 cm; (10.8 x 9.4 in.).
Provenance :
Private collection, Paris, acquired in the 1990s.
Designed as courtly objects for banquets and ceremonies, these fawns with their openwork bodies let smoke from aromatic resins escape through the scrolls on their surface, giving the animal an almost living presence. For similar examples, see Musée du Louvre (inv. no. AA 19) and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 57.36.1).
A Seljuk bronze zoomorphic incense burner cast, in the form of a feline, Iran (Khurasan) or Mesopotamia, Seljuk period, 12th-13th century.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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