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Collections

Calligraphic Design of a Ewer (Ibrik) with a Long Spoutcirca 1815-1825

Not on view
Drawing of an ornate ewer in black ink, gold, and white, covered in dense arabesque scrollwork with Arabic script in a central cartouche
Ink and gold drawing of an ewer with a tall domed neck, long curved spout, and dragon-headed handle, covered entirely in dense arabesque scrollwork and floral interlace in black, white, and gold, with a small cartouche of Arabic script near the base.
Title
Calligraphic Design of a Ewer (Ibrik) with a Long Spout
Place Made
Turkey
Date Made
circa 1815-1825
Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
14 11/16 × 9 7/8 in. (37.31 × 25.08 cm) Frame: 23 × 19 × 1 1/2 in. (58.42 × 48.26 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line
The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Accession Number
M.85.237.60
Classification
Manuscripts
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes

Arabic script is remarkably versatile, and Islamic calligraphers have always been able to draw on its many decorative possibilities, as here where the letter waw (and) is written in large scale normally and in mirror image to form the body of a ewer. Rendered in a tiny script at the juncture of the two waws is the phrase ma sha’allah, "Whatever God wills." Despite this recognizable calligraphy, the strong outline of the ewer and its floral decoration predominates.

Selected Bibliography
  • Işin, Priscilla Mary. Bountiful Empire: A History of Ottoman Cuisine. London: Reaktion Books, 2018.