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A grey steel object that is long and narrow in shape and curves down. The left end is wider and rounded while the right end is small and flares out in two ends. A long, thin piece curves underneath the object and has gold detailing.

A grey steel object that is long and narrow in shape and curves down. It is shown horizontally and on a grey background. The left end is wider and rounded while the left end is small and flares out in two ends. Both ends have gold detailing, the wider end has a circle and a vertical band. A long, thin piece curves underneath the object and has gold detailing. Two small, metal rings are attached to this thin piece.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1999.317
People
Unknown Artist
Title
Priming Flask in the Form of a Fish
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Fish-Shaped Inlaid Powder Horn
Classification
Weapons and Ammunition
Work Type
priming flask
Date
mid 17th century
Places
Creation Place: Middle East, Iran
Period
Safavid period
Culture
Persian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215530

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watered steel with gold overlay
Technique
Kuftgari
Dimensions
15.88 cm (6 1/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Estate of Margaret F. Schroeder
Accession Year
1999
Object Number
1999.317
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This exquisite little fish, made of beautifully patterned watered steel accented with gold overlay in the koftgari technique, is also a practical and useful tool. It would have held gunpowder, dispensed from its mouth by pressing on the end of the lever. Attached to the lever are two rings, which would have allowed the fish to be suspended upside down from a belt. Notes from the Glory and Prosperity exhibition, Feb - June 2002.

Publication History

  • Anthony Welch, Shah 'Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan, exh. cat., Asia Society Museum (New York, NY, 1973), page 96/figure 68

Exhibition History

  • Objects for a Kunstkammer: Early European Collecting, 1550-1700, Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 12/10/2005 - 11/19/2006
  • From Rhubarb to Rubies: European Travelers to Safavid Iran, 1550-1700, Houghton Library, Cambridge, 05/08/2008 - 08/20/2008
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/31/2019 - 01/08/2020; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/02/2022

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu