4 août 2018
Mirror, cast bronze, Eastern Turkey; 600 or 660 H = 1204 or 1262
Mirror, cast bronze, Eastern Turkey; 600 or 660 H = 1204 or 1262. H at rim: 0.8; Diam: 24 cm, Inv. no. 4/1996. © The David Collection.
This might be the most famous mirror from the Islamic cultural sphere. It was published as early as 1811 as being in a French collection and was made for the last Artuqid ruler of the Khartpert line: Artuq Shah. It is difficult to interpret the date, which coincides with either Artuq Shah’s childhood or the period after he had been deposed by the Seljuks of Rum.
The outermost border shows the 12 constellations and the heavenly bodies that dominate them: Venus in Taurus, Mercury in Gemini, the Moon in Cancer, the Sun in Leo, Mercury in Virgo, Venus in Libra, Mars in Scorpio, Jupiter in Sagittarius, Saturn in Capricorn, Saturn in Aquarius, Jupiter in Pisces, and Mars in Aries.
Commentaires