The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 5, 2023

Tray Portraying Courtly Pleasures

1240s

Syria, Ayyubid period

(1171–1260)

Sheet brass inlaid with silver

Diameter: 53.8 cm (21 3/16 in.); Overall: 5.8 cm (2 5/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1945.386

Location

116 Islamic

Description

This tray features images of courtly life interspersed with astronomical symbols. The scenes contained within large multilobed medallions display an enthroned prince with lions at his feet, a banquet, a hunt, dancers, and musicians. Contained within the concentric circles there are also references to solar and lunar motifs, including figures holding sunbursts and lunar crescents. This tray is made of a single sheet of brass and the silver inlay, which is best preserved on the tray’s inner curve, suggests its original brilliance.

Inscriptions

Inscription

The presence of ligatures in the narrow circular bands with interconnected human and animal figures suggests this may be a degenerate form of animated script. It is indecipherable.

Provenance
?-1945
(Hagop Kevorkian [1872–1962], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1945-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
“Part II. Annual Report Issue for the Year 1945.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 33, no. 6, 1946, pp. 103–130. Mentioned: p. 107 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 711 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 209 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 209 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 265 archive.org
Exhibition history

Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 1944-February 2, 1945).

For Modern America from the Ancient Near East. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-March 21, 1948).

Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.386