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Source Description
The spout and neck of the ewer display a crouching and seated lion in raised relief. Winged hare-like animals march around the top of the body, set off by foliate scrolls, while sphinxes process around the center. The bottom of the ewer’s body is encircled by an inscription with human heads, which only appear on metalwork in Islamic art. Ewers like this, and similar elaborate vessels, would have been used in court banquets and elite homes across the Islamic world.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
124286
label
Twelve-sided Ewer with Sphinxes and Human-Headed Inscriptions
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
124286
contentType
object
title
Twelve-sided Ewer with Sphinxes and Human-Headed Inscriptions
description
The spout and neck of the ewer display a crouching and seated lion in raised relief. Winged hare-like animals march around the top of the body, set off by foliate scrolls, while sphinxes process around the center. The bottom of the ewer’s body is encircled by an inscription with human heads, which only appear on metalwork in Islamic art. Ewers like this, and similar elaborate vessels, would have been used in court banquets and elite homes across the Islamic world.
date
1300–1350
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60751915
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 44.8 cm (17 5/8 in.)
cul
Iran, Khurasan, Ilkhanid period (1256–1353)
accession
1945.27
Source extras
tec
hammered sheet of brass inlaid with silver
tombstone
Twelve-sided Ewer with Sphinxes and Human-Headed Inscriptions, 1300–1350. Iran, Khurasan, Ilkhanid period (1256–1353). Hammered sheet of brass inlaid with silver; overall: 44.8 cm (17 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1945.27
collection
Islamic Art
didYouKnow
Calligraphy with human heads, known as animated script, developed in northeast Iran during the 1100s.
citations
1
citation
Lethaby, W. R. "Notes." <em>The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs</em> 23, no. 124 (July 1913): 246-51.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 247; Reproduced: p. 248
2
citation
"Closing Days of the Inaugural Exhibition." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 3, no. 3 (1916): 1-4.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 8; mentioned: p. 9
3
citation
Hollis, Howard. "Two Inlaid Brasses." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 33, no. 4 (April 1946): 39-43.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 39-40; Reproduced: p. 41
4
citation
“Part II. Annual Report Issue for the Year 1945.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 33, no. 6, 1946, pp. 103–130.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 107
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25141295
5
citation
Baer, Eva. <em>Sphinxes and Harpies in Medieval Islamic Art; An Iconographical Study.</em> Jerusalem: Israel Oriental Society, 1965.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 14, fn. 53; Reproduced: Pl. XIV, fig. 24
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
sketchfabId
6a04aa6ff4fd470681bbeddf7be42f93
updatedAt
2026-06-18 21:17:41.376000
sourceId
124286
dept
Islamic Art
coll
Islamic Art
med
hammered sheet of brass inlaid with silver
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
17483a1d56b21f20