For your consideration is this Mameluke Dynasty Islamic Copper Pitcher Vase fragment, circa 11th - 14th century AD. Procured in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan 1969-1972. Provenance: the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection. Owen David Mort was an American engineer who amassed an impressive collection throughout his worldwide travels. His collection has included art, artifacts and other historical items from which he has donated to museums at the University of Utah and the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame. Donations also include Afghan, Indian, Mughal, Parthian, Persian and Far East Asian art and artifacts. In the Mameluke period, luxury objects were produced in specialized workshops. Such production was fueled by the strong tradition of patronage across the Mameluke domains of Egypt, Syria, and the Hijaz. With the construction of new religious buildings such as mosques and madrasas, and also with secular urban expansion, there was an increased demand for the manufacture of both practical and ornamental objects. The program of urban and cultural expansion stimulated production of glass and metalwork. The Mameluke (also spelled Mamluk) Dynasty (Sultanate) was a dynasty which ruled Delhi Sultanate as well as held political and military power most notably in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Iraq, and India. Metalwork has always been to India what ceramics are to China. During the fabled Mughal age, the craftsmen of the Sultans and Rajahs of India produced an astonishing variety of objects in gold and gold enamel, silver, brass, bronze, gilt copper and the Deccani alloy known as bidri. The finest of these are among the most striking and poetic utilitarian wares ever made, in addition to being of the most outstanding technical refinement. This pitcher / vase fragment features hand chased and embossed with Islamic thuluth calligraphy, bird, floral and geometric designs in Mameluke style. Thuluth script is a medieval Islamic style of handwritten alphabet. It is a large and elegant, cursive script, used in medieval times on mosque decorations, and it was used to write sura headings, religious inscriptions, and princely titles and epigraphs. According to the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Geometric patterns make up one of the three nonfigural types of decoration in Islamic art, which also include calligraphy and vegetal patterns. Whether isolated or used in combination with nonfigural ornamentation or figural representation, geometric patterns are popularly associated with Islamic art, largely due to their anionic quality. These abstract designs not only adorn the surfaces of monumental Islamic architecture but also function as the major decorative element on a vast array of objects of all types. While geometric ornamentation may have reached a pinnacle in the Islamic world, the sources for both the shapes and the intricate patterns already existed in late antiquity among the Greeks, Romans, and Sasanians in Iran. Islamic artists appropriated key elements from the classical tradition, then complicated and elaborated upon them in order to invent a new form of decoration that stressed the importance of unity and order. The significant intellectual contributions of Islamic mathematicians, astronomers, and scientists were essential to the creation of this unique new style." This pitcher / vase is a heavy gauge copper, the top spout and large portion of the top is missing, handle is missing. Splits and corrosion damage observed. Greenish oxidation patina noted throughout along with original copper gilt. Measures 9"H x 6.5"W, 4" diameter foot base; weight is 2lb 4oz.*

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