Figure of a Dove

Titre: En Figure of a Dove; Fr Figure de colombe
Type: Figure / Islamic Art
Créateur/ Créatrice: Hajji ʿAbbas (inscribed)
Identifiant: 1878,1230.753
Format: Steel, inlaid with garnet and gold
Dimension: 16 × 23 × 10 cm
Lieu de découverte: Iran
Résumé: En 'Alam in the shape of a peacock, made of steel, engraved, gilded, overlaid, and inlaid; engraved with figural scenes including an enthroned Solomon surrounded by figures, inscriptions, gilded decoration and gold overlay, and the bird's eyes are set with turquoise.
This fine steel peacock may have decorated the cross-bar of an 'alam, a standard carried during religious festivals in Iran. One of the most important of these is Ashura, in honour of Husayn, the third Shi'i Imam and son of 'Ali (the fourth caliph and first Shi'i Imam) and Fatima (daughter of the Prophet Muhammad), who was martyred in AD 680 in the desert area of Karbala. 'Ali and his two sons, Hasan and Husayn, are depicted in the central medallion on the peacock's fanned tail. The bird is also engraved with stylised inscriptions, princely hunting scenes, human busts and animals in a style typical of the Qajar period (1771-1924) in Iran. Peacocks were symbols of beauty and the pleasures of the court throughout the Islamic world. The birds were often allowed to wander around the gardens of noblemen and models of peacocks ornamented the famous Peacock Throne taken from India to Iran by Nadir Shah in 1739. They also had a strong association with Shi'i and Sufi iconography. At the time of its acquisition by the British Museum the peacock was thought to be associated with the Yazidi community in present-day Kurdistan, who venerate the 'peacock angel'.
Date: 18th–19th century (Qajar period)
Contribution: John Henderson
Source: Bequeathed by John Henderson, FSA, 1878
Edition: The British Museum, London (Department of the Middle East)
Référence: British Museum
Droits: © The Trustees of the British Museum; CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Collections: A la recherche du ta'zieh