Collection Online as of December 2, 2020

Feline incense burner

1100s

Part of a set. See all set records

eastern Iran, western Afghanistan, or Turkmenistan, Khorasan

Copper alloy, cast and chased

Overall: 35.5 x 11 x 32.5 cm (14 x 4 5/16 x 12 13/16 in.); Head: 17.8 x 9.5 x 12.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1948.308

Location

116 Islamic

Description

The head of this lion could be removed to fill its body with hot coals and incense; the pierced walls enabled the scented smoke to disperse. Inscriptions around the lion's neck and along his spine are from the Qur'an (62:9–10) and read in part: "O believers, when proclamation is made for prayer on the Day of Congregation, hasten to God's remembrance and leave trafficking aside . . . then, when the prayer is finished, disperse through the land and seek God's bounty, and remember God frequently that you may prosper."

Inscriptions

Inscription

Qur'an sura al-jum'ah (The Friday Congregation) 62:9-10 (on neck and spine)

Inscription Translation

The inscription reads in part: "O believers, when proclamation is made for prayer on the Day of Congregation, hasten to God's remembrance and leave trafficking aside... then, when the prayer is finished, disperse through the land and seek God's bounty, and remember God frequently that you may prosper."

Inscription Remark

Inscriptions around the lion's neck and along his spine are from the Qur'an (62:9-10).

Provenance

?-1948

(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1948-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Association française d'action artistique, and Roman Ghirshman. 1962. Sept mille ans d'art en Iran: Petit Palais, Octobre 1961-Janvier 1962 ; [exposition. [Paris]: [publisher not identified]. Reproduced: p. 176, pl. CVIII

Shepherd, Dorothy G. 1957. "A Lion Incense Burner of the Seljuk Period". The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. 44 (6): 115-118. Reproduced: cover & p. 117; Mentioned: p. 115-118 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. 707 archive.org

University of Michigan. Museum of Art. Persian Art Before And After the Mongol Conquest.: [Exhibition] April 9-May 17, 1959. the University of Michigan, Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor, 1959. Reproduced: p. 57

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 208 archive.org

Educational Research Council of Greater Cleveland, The Human Adventure, III: Medieval Civilization. Grade 5, Vol. 3 (1st edition, 1965-1966) Reproduced: p. 71

Grabar, Oleg. "The Visual Arts, 1050-1350." Cambridge History of Iran. 5 (1968): 626-658. Print. Reproduced: pl 11; Mentioned: p. 645

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 208 archive.org

Kühnel, Ernst, and Katherine Watson. 1970. Islamic arts. Reproduced: fig.127; Mentioned: p. 161

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 264 archive.org

Zorzi, Alvise. Marco Polo: Venezia E L'oriente. Milano: Electa, 1981. Reproduced: p. 114; Mentioned: p 118p.

Baer, Eva. Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1983. Print. Reproduced: fig. 41; Mentioned: p. 57

Kawatoko, Mutsuo, Clay Cuboid Incense Burners of the Islamic Period, Bulletin of the Research Center for Silk Roadology, 25, Nara, Research Center for Silk Roadology, 2006 Reproduced: p. 101

Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Reproduced: p. 132; Mentioned: p. 133

Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 22-25; Reproduced: p. 23

Exhibition history

Kunstschatze aus Iran. DIE WOCHE, Zurich, Switzerland (6/6/1962).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).