The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Head for a Feline Incense Burner

Head for a Feline Incense Burner

1150–1200
(1037–1194)
Copper alloy, cast, engraved, chased, and pierced
Overall: 36 cm (14 3/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1948.308.b
Location: 116 Islamic

Did You Know?

The head and body were each cast in halves that were soldered or welded together.

Description

In Iran during the 1000s and 1100s, vessels in the shape of animals gained popularity, especially as incense burners. Felines were favored in Persian art and this piece may represent a caracal, a type of lynx. The head of the creature was cast separately and is removable to fill its body with hot coals and incense. Qur’anic verses on the neck and spine remind worshippers to set work aside, attend prayer, and then disperse to seek God’s bounty. The diffusion of perfumed smoke through the burner’s pierced palmette design may have served as a sensorial reminder of this teaching.
  • ?-1948
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1948-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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
    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
    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
    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
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 226–227
  • Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Islam and the Medieval West. University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (April 6-May 4, 1975).
    Kunstschatze aus Iran. DIE WOCHE, Zurich, Switzerland (6/6/1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Head for a Feline Incense Burner|url=false|author=|year=1150–1200|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.308.b