Description
1,000 year old bronze Perfume Sprinkler ribbed form with Kufic inscriptions
We are pleased to offer this rare and delightful ancient Islamic bronze perfume sprinkler from 10th/11th century Persia.
Rosewater and any perfume was an expensive commodity in ancient times with precious ingredients such as herbs, spices and incense being traded along the Silk Road.
Only a wealthy merchant would have owned such an exquisite piece that would have been used to sprinkle perfume on visitors or carpets in the palace or mansion.
This type of bottle form sprinkler is documented and several museums* have examples in their collections (for example, the Metropolitan Museum New York have one purchased in 1948 originating from Nishapur: Accession Number: 48.101.13).
The large body is designed to hold a significant amount of rosewater and the neck is cleverly designed for fingers to maintain a firm grip while the bottle is held upside down and shaken vigorously to release the precious rosewater through the small pierced holes.
The holes have been intelligently designed to ‘sprinkle’ the expensive rosewater with minimum waste.
The ribbed design on the main body just adds to the air of luxury on this fine piece and the final flourish are the bands of Kufic inscriptions. The plainer ones of this type of perfume sprinkler do not look as pleasing as the ones with ribbed bodies. Also, many of this type have no inscriptions at all but this example has four bands of Kufic on the vertical ribs, another band of Kufic around the shoulder of the bottle and three panels of Kufic separated by roundels on the top of the bottle.
This is a remarkable amount of inscription on a small bottle so it must have belonged to some of importance. This type of sprinkler would have been used in a domestic environment as it would have been too small for use in a masjid. Masjids used larger incense burners as opposed to perfume sprinklers.
The inscriptions on this type of sprinkler and similar ancient Islamic metal work tend to be benedictory (prayers) or religious inscriptions.
The following are the typical type of inscriptions taken from similar items:
“Glory, prosperity, wealth & perpetual happiness…[to the owner]”
“Glory, prosperity, perpetual happiness and longevity to the owner”.
“Glory, prosperity, perpetual happiness and longevity to the owner”.
“Glory, peace and perpetual…quietitude…[to the owner]”
“Glory, prosperity, wealth, happiness, peace and…joy & blessings to the owner”.
This exquisite piece of ancient Islamic art stands 12.5cm in height and has a diameter of 7.5cm at the bottom.
Please note that this artefact was in the earth for several centuries and exhibits a patina typical of buried pieces. This piece would have been a reddish copper colour overall when it was originally made around 1,000 years ago. There are large sections of greenish patina caused by interaction with the soil and the elements but please note that these are stable.
The copper-red and bronze colour is still noticeable, for example on the shoulder of the bottle where the inscription is clearly visible.
It would be advisable to handle this ancient piece with gloves to prevent further wear to the surface.
From a Private Scandinavian Collection formed in the 1970’s.
* The Victoria & Albert Museum have several examples of this type of perfume sprinkler as does The Khalili Collection (London).
You can see an example of this type of rose water sprinkler that is very plain without any inscriptions and no ribbing on the body available for sale for £6,000 at a London based antiquities dealer in the last image attached above.
Prices are negotiable within reason so please contact us if you wish to discuss an item that is of interest.
If you purchase more than one item, we will offer a discount and combine shipping.
Shipping will be at cost and the buyer is responsible for any import/export fees or taxes.
We only ship using tracked services that require a signature on delivery.
Viewing is strictly by appointment and a minimum of 48 hours notice is required as no items are stored on site.
All of our Islamic Art is guaranteed to be genuine and as described.
We also further guarantee that our artefacts are legitimately sourced.