Popular Searches
Popular Searches
Small Carved Wood Kashkul, Persia, late 18th Century
Similar Sale History
Recommended Items
Description
Persia, late 18th Century
Signed ‘Sepahi-zadeh al-Sayyed Khalil Dede‘
Dated ‘213 Hidjra’
Inscription as a call to God
With old collection label and number (F.R. Martin)
Length: 16 cm
Good state of preservation according to age
Provenance: ex-collection F.R. Martin, thence Austrian private collection
This well-preserved wooden kashkul begging bowl in typical nutlike form is extensively carved all-over with inscriptions and foliage. The underside is adorned with a five-pointed star, a symbol for the five pillars of Islam. The inscription ‘la fata illa ‘ali la sayf illa dhu‘l-faqar’ – a call to God, Muhammad and the Twelve Imams – translates into ‘There is no youth [as brave as] ‘Ali, no sword [as sharp as] dhu‘l-faqar’. The sword, given by the prophet Muhammad to his son in law Ali ibn Abi Talib is one of the most important symbols in Shi’ite belief and it is attributed with magical powers. The kashkul bowl is signed ‘work of Sepahi-zadeh al-Sayyed Khalil Dede’ and dated ‘[1] 213 AH/1798-9 AD’. Begging bowls of this kind were used by so-called dervishes, Sufi ascetics, to collect alms. These mendicants had chosen a life in poverty and modesty rejecting any kind of material wealth.
The begging bowl is in a good state of preservation according to its age. The underside shows a hole and the reverse shows a burn mark. On the inside there is an old collection label with number. The bowl measures 16 cm in length.
Collection F.R. Martin
At the turn of the Century the Swedish scholar and art historian Fredrik Robert Martin (1868-1933) travelled through much of Persia. By the 1920s he had compiled an extensive and historically important collection of Islamic art, illustrating the craftsmanship of bygone dynasties. During his lifetime F.R. Martin authored many books on the subject of Islamic arts and crafts. Many of the items from the collection, about which an extensive catalogue was published, are nowadays held in the Medelhavsmuseet and the Ethnographical Museum in Stockholm.
Shipping costs excl. statutory VAT and plus 2,5% (+VAT) shipping insurance.
Buyer's Premium
- 23.8%