Sufi Alms Bowl (Kashkul), Iran, Late 17th–early 19th century. Steel with gold inlay, height: 13.33 cm; width: 35.56 cm. Gift of Bj Averitt. 1994.6. © Denver Art Museum 

Mendicant Sufi holy men were a familiar sight throughout Islamic history. They chose lives of poverty, renouncing earthly goods and subsisting on offerings of food or money from the devout. Each would have carried a guide to worship and a kashkul, or begging bowl. This bowl is in the shape of a coco-de-mer, or double coconut, and bears the signature of the maker, Hajji ibn ‘Abbas.

Provenance : 1993, Bj Averitt [d. 2014], Denver CO, acquired through Dr. Ernst J. Grube [d. 2011], London; 1994, DAM collection, gift of Mrs. Bj Averitt.