Brazier and coal tongs, bronze with engraved decorations
Eastern Iran or Afghanistan; 12th-13th century
Brazier total H: 38.5; Diam at rim: 29 cm
Coal tongs L: 22,5 cm
Coal tongs L: 22,5 cm
Inventory number 64/1979 & 16/2001
The brazier and the tongs do not belong together, and their design is also different, though both have animals as their main decoration. The tongs end in a bird whose beak could grasp the coals.
The bird is highly stylized, and its legs, wings, eyes, and beak are elegantly curved in a way that matches the tongs’ other quite simple forms. The brazier has a more composite but very impressive structure. The legs, designed as the front half of a deer, have ornamental patterns, and the lower edge of the brazier is decorated with a border of animals hunting.
A similar loose leg has been excavated in Nishapur, but this brazier is unique in being preserved more or less intact.
The bird is highly stylized, and its legs, wings, eyes, and beak are elegantly curved in a way that matches the tongs’ other quite simple forms. The brazier has a more composite but very impressive structure. The legs, designed as the front half of a deer, have ornamental patterns, and the lower edge of the brazier is decorated with a border of animals hunting.
A similar loose leg has been excavated in Nishapur, but this brazier is unique in being preserved more or less intact.
Published in
Published in
Kjeld von Folsach: Islamic art. The David Collection, Copenhagen 1990, cat.no. 316;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 476;
Kjeld von Folsach: Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2001, cat.no. 476;
The Seljuks and their Successors
