Name of Object:

Kettle

Location:

Madaba, Jordan

Holding Museum:

Madaba Archaeological Museum

Date of Object:

Hegira first half of the 2nd century / AD first half of the 8th century

Museum Inventory Number:

M.4866

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Cast, leaded bronze.

Dimensions:

Height 14.8 cm, width 12.5 cm, weight 564 g

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad

Provenance:

Hallado en Umm al-Walid (Jordania).

Description:

An intact, zoomorphic kettle made of leaded bronze. A representation of a camel bearing a load or a seat, a tripod would once have held the kettle in place above a brazier to heat the contents; the mouth of the camel is the spout, and the lid contacted to the handle.

This kettle is an extremely important object not only because of the rarity of metalwork in the Umayyad period, but also symbolically, for the camel is a highly significant creature in the Arab world considering that only a few hundred years ago, caravans of 120,000 camels – up to six miles long – would have travelled across the desert linking Middle Eastern cities from Arabia to Jerusalem.

View Short Description

A kettle of leaded bronze from Umm al-Walid, representing a camel bearing a load or a seat. The mouth of the camel is the spout. A tripod would once have held the kettle in place above a brazier to heat the contents.

How date and origin were established:

The object was dated by its stratigraphic context, and association with Umayyad pottery vessels and shards also found at the site.

How Object was obtained:

This kettle was found during archaeological excavations at Umm al-Walid (15 km south-east of Madaba) in 1992 where, earlier, a palace and a mosque were discovered. Ceramic vessels and other metalwork were also uncovered at this site.

How provenance was established:

Where this kettle was produced is unknown but it was found during an archaeological excavation at Umm al-Walid near Madaba.

Selected bibliography:

Bujard, J., and Schweizer, F., Entre Byzance et l'Islam: Umm er-Rasas et Umm el-Walid – Fouilles genevoises en Jordanie, Geneva, 1992, p.17, fig. 11/4; p.18, fig. 14.
Haldimann, M. A., Les Implantations omeyyades dans la Balqa: l'apport d'Umm el-Walid, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, XXXVI, 1992, pp.307–18 (especially p.315).

Citation of this web page:

Aida Naghawy "Kettle" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;jo;Mus01_A;7;en

Prepared by: Aida Naghawy
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: JO 09