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 One
candlestick - 12 inch (30 centimeter) high - is decorated with an
endlessly recurring pattern of fighting animals - a common symbol of
victory. The silver inlaid inscription on this artifact not only
states the year of production, but also the patron for whom it was
made, the Ghurid prince Abu I-Fath Muhammad. He had captured the
flourishing trading city of Herat, where specialists worked on
elaborately decorated goods. A different example of work from Herat
is a bucket dating from 1163, which is inscribed with the names of
the craftsman who cast it and the "designer" who did the inlaying
work, Masud ibn Ahmad. Another master inlayer named Mahmud ibn
Muhammad left behind a poem on a water pitcher that he made in Herat
in 1181/82. He emphasized the uniqueness of his work and extolled
the astrological symbols represented as tokens of happiness,
claiming their benign power on his own behalf. In order to advertise
their mastery, some artists signed their work with the byname al-Harawi,
which indicated that they came from Herat.
 The
eastern Islamic refugees from the Mongols had a wealth of experience
in these techniques, and inlaying began to flourish in the Jazira
and in Syria when they arrived in the 13th century. The Armenian
Badr al-Din Lulu (1218-1259), who rose from being the vizier to the
Zangids to become an independent prince, supported the crafts of his
capital Mosul by placing many commissions, including one for a
serving plate with a diameter of 62 centimeters (2 feet). He also
created the best possible conditions for artisans exporting to
neighboring principalities. Many craftsmen worked to perfect the
techniques of inlaying in this traditional trading center under the
supervision of the masters Shuja ibn Mana and Ahmad al-Dhaki. There
was now a trend for the inlaying of complex figurative scenes. The
masters of Mosul signed their work and indicated their own origins
with the byname al-Mausili, which was recognized as a quality mark
for over a century. Indeed, it was still used by some craftsmen
whose families had moved their businesses to cities such as Damascus
or Cairo two or three generations earlier. Under the Mamluks and
Mongols, figurative representation was increasingly neglected in
favor of majestic calligraphic designs with gold and silver inlays.
Inlaid wares
were now no longer exclusively reserved for the upper classes.
However, as the
Mamluks historian, al-Maqrizi,
reported in the early 15th century, they were still luxury goods for
the rich. They filled the gap between undecorated bronze and costly
silver vessels in the trousseaux of the daughters of emirs, viziers,
secretaries, and rich merchants. The superb goods in the bazaars
filled travelers from Europe with enthusiasm and, as the economy
declined, they eventually came to be manufactured exclusively for
export across the Mediterranean.
 In
the 15th century, copper and brass goods began to be decorated with
intricate patterns of unprecedented virtuosity. Late Mamluks,
Timurid, and
Safavids products are
covered in spirals of leaves and tendrils joined to form networks
and symmetrical patterns. One 34 centimeter (13 inch) high
candlestick, made around 1600 in Iran, is decorated with entwined
bifurcating tendrils that extend over the edges of the shaft and are
ordered in a network that is subject to the principles of eternal
repetition. Just as typical as these virtuoso patterns are the
mystical verses from Saadi's Bustan quoted on the foot of the
candlestick.
 Products
with a zinc content of more than 80% came into fashion in India
under the Mughals rulers. They were known as "Bidri-ware" after the
city of Bidar in the Deccan where they were made. Most of these cast
pieces were bell-shaped or spherical water bottles for hookahs (huqqa),
which the miniatures of the Mughals period show as essential
accessories to a luxurious lifestyle. They bear deeply incised
floral patterns, which glitter with inlaid sheet silver, gold, or
brass. The inlaying was carried out by Muslim workshops, while the
vessels were cast by Hindu craftsmen.
< Islamic
Metalwork P2
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