The Arabs plundered large quantities of precious metals on their campaigns of conquest in the 7th and 8th centuries. They developed a taste for luxury tableware, with which they would display their wealth at festive banquets, even if this was frowned on by Islamic tradition. The powerful hoarded fine metal goods and saw them as both a symbol and the basis of political and economic power. Collections of gold and silver were always affected by the ups and downs of history. ln times of crisis they were used as the raw materials for minting gold and silver coins. As a result, very little medieval metalwork has survived. A jug with inscriptions blessing the Buoyed prince Fizz al-Daula Bahtiyar (967-978) was beaten from a pound of high carat gold. It is decorated with relief's that include arabesques and animal symbols of happiness, including a peacock, ibex, and sphinx, that stand out against a background with a matte finish achieved by pounding with round punches. The foliate pattern shows the influence of earlier Sassanian work. A golden water jug in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace that was borne behind the Ottoman sultans on their official appearances is identified as a royal accessory by the lavish jewels set into it. The golden crown of the Volga Tartars, a symbol of absolute power created in the 14th century, is preserved in the Armory of the Kremlin. It was used in the coronation ceremonies of the Russian Czars from the 16th century on. With its rich filigree and granulation, in which the finest golden threads and tiny golden grains are lined to create a superb network, it is an example of a particularly costly technique practiced by Islamic goldsmiths that was almost exclusively used for the decoration of jewelry.

In the east of the Islamic world, which was rich in silver, table silver remained an essential accessory for the court banquets described in chronicles until the 11th century. A few vessels bear the name of princes or viziers. In the west, silverware had to compete against carved ivory for the favor of the rulers in the 10th and 11th centuries. The box ordered by Caliph Hisham of Cordoba and the perfume bottle owned by a princess from one of the iaifa states established in Spain after the fall of the caliphate are examples of the luxurious goods popular with the upper classes. We find large amounts of silverware preserved only from the time of the Ottomans, whose capital, Istanbul, was never invaded. Of these pieces, the 4 foot (118 centimeter) high candlesticks from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I(1603-1617) are remarkable on account of its sheer size.

Many silver vessels were given a polychrome finish by gilding or niello work. In fire gilding an amalgam of gold and mercury was applied to the vessel. When it was heated, the gold was fused to the surface, and the mercury evaporated. ln niello work lines and grooves cut out of the background metal were filled with black silver sulfide, which was then fused to the surface by means of heating. For a while silverware was inlaid with copper, while some craftsmen experimented with inlaying on bronze. Whether as a result of the revival of ancient methods or the transfer technology encouraged by the growth of trade with India and the Far East, the mercantile cities in the eastern part of the Islamic world, where there was plenty of copper and silver, offered perfect conditions for the widespread application of these techniques.

Pen box. Muhammad Ibn Sunqur, Iraq - dating from 1281 - Inlaid with gold and silver, London, British Museum.

A pen box dating from 1148 and a basin from the year 1163 belonged to figures who moved in affluent commercial and financial circles. These artifacts bear the names of business people with international contacts who had already made the expensive pilgrimage to Mecca. Inlaid pen boxes and inkwells had recently become accessories carried by any educated citizen. The contrasting decorations of inlaid copper or silver added to these goods naturally included images that reflected the scholarly life, such as a game of chess, or the signs of the zodiac and the symbols of the planets. The inkwell in the Keir Collection depicts the signs of the zodiac in groups of four medallions inlaid in copper and silver on a dark bronze. On the left are Cancer and Gemini, on the right Capricorn and Taurus (with human figures). The three contrasting colors used in this design give these symbols great clarity and are typical of the early period of eastern Islamic inlaying. Planetary symbols are also found on the magnificent water pitchers made for the Ghurids, who were the first to see inlaid bronze and tin goods as alternatives to traditional court tableware made of precious metals.

< Islamic Metalwork P1 - Islamic Metalwork P3 >

ISLAMIC ART

Astrolabe, Toledo, 1029/30, Berlin, Staatsbibliotek. The astrolabe, a portable instrument for sighting the fixed stars and planets, can be used for measuring time at places with known geographical coordinates, for determining the direction for prayer towards Mecca, and the daily times for prayer. Manufactured in Toledo by the Cordoba scholar Muhammad ibn al-Saffer, this astrolabe comprises nine inset disks with 16 registered places, from Cordoba, Toledo, and Saragossa, to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as far as the "Ruby Island" of Ceylon and the "limits of the known world." The grid on the front of the astrolabe indicates 29 stars with the curved star pointers. On the back there are additional scales for the zodiac and the solar year, a Spanish innovation. The instrument makers of al-Andalus not only paid attention to perfect astronomical workability but also to artistic styling.

Column-shaped candlestick, Iran, c. 1600, brass,  Berlin, Museum for Islamic Arts. Ewer, Herat, 1180-1200, brass inlaid with silver, London, British Museum.

Hookah bottle, India, 18th-century, Bidar, Munich, Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde. Pilgrim's flask, Syria, mid-13th century, bronze inlaid with silver, Washington, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art.

Bronze ewer, Iran or Iraq, 7th century. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Incense burner in the shape of a lion, bronze, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.