What is this?
By Gracyn Benck '23
This metal bowl was probably made in Egypt in the eleventh century. It is decorated with vine scroll, pseudo-Arabic script, and Greek crosses. Vine scroll, which contains plant motifs, decorates the top of the bowl around the circumference. Vine scroll is seen in many Islamic works. Underneath the vine scroll is pseudo-Arabic. These are forms that look like Arabic letters but do not have any actual meaning. This type of ornament could evoke legible Arabic as a recognition as to how important Arabic writing was. Below the pseudo-Arabic script are Greek crosses, which are crosses with four limbs of equal length. These crosses were widely used as a Christian religious symbol. This mixture of vine scroll, pseudo-Arabic, and Christian crosses suggest the cross-cultural interactions that occurred in Crusades.
This bowl is part of a wide network of metalworking. The broad tradition of Islamic metalwork reflects the patronage and desires of diverse social and economic classes. These metal objects were sometimes simple and other times quite ornate. These objects’ decoration employs various common themes as well as unique compositions.