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Source Description
Building on the tradition of ancient Roman baths, the <em>hammam</em> (public bath) was, and still is, an integral part of social life in the Islamic world. This pail was used to carry bathing equipment for a wealthy individual from their home to the hammam. It is decorated with an interlacing geometric design with a central band of repeating animals. Bathing was a popular theme with Iranian poets. On this piece, verses by the celebrated poet Jami (died 1492) relay the story of a youth inquiring as to why the hammam brings so much joy. An elder responds, “The secret is that the bather has nothing of the trappings of this world / But a bathing-bowl and towel—and even those belong to others.”
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
144668
label
Bath Pail (Satl)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
144668
contentType
object
title
Bath Pail (Satl)
description
Building on the tradition of ancient Roman baths, the <em>hammam</em> (public bath) was, and still is, an integral part of social life in the Islamic world. This pail was used to carry bathing equipment for a wealthy individual from their home to the hammam. It is decorated with an interlacing geometric design with a central band of repeating animals. Bathing was a popular theme with Iranian poets. On this piece, verses by the celebrated poet Jami (died 1492) relay the story of a youth inquiring as to why the hammam brings so much joy. An elder responds, “The secret is that the bather has nothing of the trappings of this world / But a bathing-bowl and towel—and even those belong to others.”
date
c. 1580–1610
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60752248
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); Diameter of base: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.); Diameter of rim: 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.)
cul
Iran, Isfahan, Safavid period (1501-1722)
accession
1969.291
Source extras
tec
cast brass, turned, engraved, inlaid with black compound (niello)
tombstone
Bath Pail (Satl), c. 1580–1610. Iran, Isfahan, Safavid period (1501-1722). Cast brass, turned, engraved, inlaid with black compound (niello); overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); diameter of base: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.); diameter of rim: 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., 1969.291
collection
Islamic Art
inscriptions
inscription
Upper band:
At the breath of dawn [my Beloved] came from her house toward the Bath,/
A thousand hearts became dust on the road beneath her steps./
From seeing Your face, the bath-house day and night/
[Has] a thousand colored eyes on the door and ceiling./
As soon as my Moon [-faced Beloved] comes into the Bath,/
My eye becomes this bathing cup, and by eyebrow its handle.
inscription_remark
The inscriptions on the pail are in the curvilinear script known as nasta'liq.
inscription
Lower band:
I remember an old master saying in the Bathhouse:/
One day a young person asked of an old man:/
"What is the secret that makes anyone who sets foot in the bathhouse,/
Find his saddened heart opened up to joy?"/
He said: "The secret is that the bather has nothing of the trappings of this world/
But a bathing-bowl and towel -- and even those belong to others.
inscription_remark
Persian verses about Bathing
didYouKnow
Three animal motifs are repeated within the geometric interlacing: a doe with its head turned backward; a water fowl; and a horned animal, possibly an ibex.
creditline
Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc.
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:26:00.360000
sourceId
144668
dept
Islamic Art
coll
Islamic Art
med
cast brass, turned, engraved, inlaid with black compound (niello)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
367ee115e51c2d08