incense-burner
- Museum number
- 1891,0623.6
- Description
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Brass incense-burner; cast sphere, with traces of hammering and possible lathe turning; pierced and decorated with silver, gold and black organic inlays. Gymbals inside.
- Production date
- 16thC
- Dimensions
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Diameter: 10.60 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
On the origin of this type of metalware: D. Behrens-Abouseif, "Veneto-Saracenic Metalware, a Mamluk Art", Mamluk Studies Review 9 (2005) 147-172.
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Scientific analysis suggests that the two halves of the shell were probably spun but there are signs of hammering, lathe/compass work and inlaying. The central bowl is cast from leaded bronze. One of the silver inlays was analysed and shown to be 96& silver with a small amount of copper and minor trace elements of gold and lead. The dark organic inlay on the recessed ground of the design on this and other vessels of this class has often been described in error as niello. It was evidently applied hot in liquid form as tiny bubbles are often visible. It is hard, brittle, often shiny and ranges in colour from reddish through golden brown to deep black. It is sometimes described in the literature as bitumen, tar or pitch but attempts to identify it more closely have had mixed success as these are complex materials potentially compromised by long histories of handling and cleaning since they were made. In any case, it is not niello which is a man-made metal sulphide mixture. This distinction is discussed in greater detail in connection with other pieces of Islamic metalwork by S. La Niece in the proceedings of a congress in Istanbul entitled 'Conservation and the Eastern Mediterranean' (2010). The object has been previously dated to the late 15th century, may have been made in Venice rather than Syria (hence belongs to a class known as Veneto-Saracenic) and has also been described as a hand-warmer.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1891
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- 1891,0623.6