Jug (late 900s): Art, History and Details

Jug (late 900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This jug is one of the rare surviving Islamic vessels made entirely of precious metal. Its inscription bands contain Arabic poetry that translates, in part: "You are the image of the full moon at night, the first gleam of sun on the horizon of the morning. You are a sword in the times of war, a beneficent rain in times of peace . . . your sword cuts the necks of Buyid enemies in great quantities . . . Glory and prosperity to the just king Samsam al-Dawla . . . May God lengthen your reign!"

Object facts

• Title: Jug
• Date: late 900s
• Culture: Iran or Iraq, Baghdad, Buyid Period, reign of Samsam al-Dawla (985-998 AD)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: gold with repoussé and chased and engraved decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 12.5 x 10.2 cm (4 15/16 x 4 in.); Diameter of base: 7 cm (2 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Islamic Art
• Department: Islamic Art
• Accession number: 1966.22

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• Lee, Sherman E. “Golden Anniversary Acquisitions: September 10 through October 16.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 7 (1966): 181–284.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.