This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Unglazed bottle with lions

Location:

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)

Holding Museum:

Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation

About Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Sharjah

Date of Object:

Hegira 6th – 7th century / AD 12th – 13th century

Museum Inventory Number:

SM 2006 – 1191

Period / Dynasty:

Ayyubid? Seljuq? Atabeg?

Provenance:

Near East or Iraq

Description:

This bottle type, common at the time, is constructed from several parts. The lions’ pounced bodies, striated legs and profiled palmette tails recall carved Fatimid rock crystals. Beasts with similar bodies also occur on unglazed wares from Syria and Northern Iraq. The central tree-of-life, finally, echoes contemporary Siculo-Islamic textiles.

Citation of this web page:

 "Unglazed bottle with lions" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;ua;Mus21;16;en

MWNF Working Number: UA 16