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Ewer

9th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Vegetal motifs drawing upon Byzantine and Sasanian forms developed in the arts of the Umayyad and early Abbasid period in the territories, once the southern provinces of the Byzantine Empire. Based on these traditions, the abstract forms and styles of ornament that subsequently developed at the Abbasid capital at Samarra would have a profound impact on the art and architecture of the Islamic world.
The scrolling pattern on the body of the ewer covers the surface with a gracefully formal, abstract design drawn from Sasanian traditions.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ewer
  • Date: 9th century
  • Geography: Made in Iraq or Iran
  • Medium: Bronze, cast
  • Dimensions: H: 10 7/8 in (27.7 cm); diam: 5 1/2 in (14 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: The David Collection, Copenhagen (17/2001)
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters