1973.40: Mortar
Vessels
This object does not yet have a description.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1973.40
- Title
- Mortar
- Classification
- Vessels
- Work Type
- vessel
- Date
- 12th-13th century
- Places
- Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
- Period
- Seljuk-Atabeg period
- Culture
- Persian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/216678
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- leaded brass
- Technique
- Cast
- Dimensions
- 13 x 17 cm (5 1/8 x 6 11/16 in.)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Anonymous Gift
- Accession Year
- 1973
- Object Number
- 1973.40
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
-
This mortar is decorated with incised Kufic benedictory inscriptions and geometric decoration. The crescents on the rim were probably originally inlaid with silver. Mortars had a wide variety of uses, including the pounding of herbs and spices for cooking or medicinal purposes and the pounding of various other materials for artisans and alchemists. This mortar was cast and is composed of a leaded brass alloy, a typical method of manufacture. Leaded alloys had the advantages of being cheap, easy to cast, heavy and stable. Disadvantages included a susceptibility to damage through repeated use (as seen here in the bulging base), and more seriously, lead poisoning, particularly if an acidic substance were pounded in the mortar. Notes from the Glory and Prosperity exhibition, Feb - June 2002.
Exhibition History
- Islamic Art From the Collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/1974
Verification Level
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu