Name of Object:

Ewer (ibrik)

Location:

Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey

Holding Museum:

Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

About Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Sultanahmet

Date of Object:

Hegira 627 / AD 1229

Artist(s) / Craftsperson(s):

Master ‘Iyas of Mosul.

Museum Inventory Number:

217

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Cast and engraved brass inlaid with red-copper and silver.

Dimensions:

Height (without lid) 39 cm; diameter (of base) 16.5 cm; maximum diameter 20 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Zangid (Atabeg)

Description:

A ewer (ibrik) with a pear-shaped body, a handle and a spout decorated with plant motifs and inscription friezes. The shoulder of the ewer is filled with a frieze written in naskhi script. A second frieze, formed of plant motifs, appears directly below. Further inscriptions in naskhi script are found on the neck and spout. The floral motifs and inscriptions adorning the ewer are embellished with silver leaf, while the frame of the inscription on the shoulder is embellished with red-copper leaf. The inscriptions on the shoulder and spout wish glory, fame, success and long life to the owner of the vessel. This ewer is of great importance both as a dated example of Mesopotamian work and because its inscriptions provide the names of two Mosul craftsmen.

Mosul was an important centre of Islamic metalwork during the Zangid period. This centre had a great influence on the technique and style of Artuqid metalwork in Anatolia. The inscription states that it was made by a master called 'Iyas of Mosul. It has the characteristics of its period.

How date and origin were established:

An inscription on the neck states that the ewer was made by 'Iyas, the assistant of master Abd al-Karim ibn al-Turabi of Mosul' in 627 / 1229.

How Object was obtained:

Brought from the tomb of Süleyman Pasha in Gelibolu on 11 December 1911.

Selected bibliography:

Erginsoy, ü., İslam Maden Sanatının Gelişmesi, Istanbul 1978.

ölçer, N. et al, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, 2002, pp.78–9.

Citation of this web page:

Alev Özay "Ewer (ibrik)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tr;Mus01;8;en

Prepared by: Alev ÖzayAlev Özay

Alev Özay is an expert at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul. She was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1942. She graduated from the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Cultures of the Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University. She first worked at the museums of Tekirdağ and Kayseri. She attended Ottoman language courses in 1976–7 and restoration and conservation courses in 1982 organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. She published an article on the “Turbe of Sultan Ahmet” in 1979 and in 1983 prepared the catalogue for the Exhibition on Islamic Arts in the 15th Century of the Hijra.
Translation by: Barry WoodBarry Wood

Barry Wood is Curator (Islamic Gallery Project) in the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He studied history of art at Johns Hopkins University and history of Islamic art and architecture at Harvard University, from where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2002. He has taught at Harvard, Eastern Mediterranean University, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has also worked at the Harvard University Art Museums and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. He has published on topics ranging from Persian manuscripts to the history of exhibitions., İnci Türkoğluİnci Türkoğlu

İnci Türkoğlu has been working as a tourist guide and freelance consultant in tourism and publishing since 1993. She was born in Alaşehir, Turkey, in 1967. She graduated from the English Department of Bornova Anatolian High School in 1985 and lived in the USA for a year as an exchange student. She graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, and the professional tourist guide courses of the Ministry of Tourism in 1991. She worked as an engineer for a while. She graduated from the Department of Art History, Faculty of Letters, Ege University, Izmir, in 1997 with an undergraduate thesis entitled “Byzantine House Architecture in Western Anatolia”. She completed her Master's at the Byzantine Art branch of the same department in 2001 with a thesis entitled “Synagogue Architecture in Turkey from Antiquity to the Present”. She has published on art history and tourism.
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: TR 13