Bidspirit auction | A TIMURID LIONHEADED-HANDLED BRASS TANKARD

A TIMURID LIONHEADED-HANDLED BRASS TANKARD - Timurid Bukhara, Central Asia, or Herat, Afghanistan, Ca. 15th century AD. A copper alloy globular-shaped jug resting on a short circular foot, rising to narrow shoulders and a tall cylindrical neck with a slightly everted lip. The sides feature a handle in the style of a dragon with a head and openwork tail, the body incised with a continuous decorative pattern of stylised lotus blooms and scrolling foliate stems against a hatched ground. For similar see: Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic world, 9 October 2013, Lot 31. References: examples of Timurid dragon-handled jugs are well-attested, known from collections in London (British Museum 1878,1230.730; Victoria and Albert Museum 943-1886; the Khalili Collections MTW 288, MTW 305), Cairo (Islamic Art Museum 15201), Doha (Museum of Islamic Art MW.471.2007), New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art 91.1.607).Size: 295mm x 135mm; Weight: 1.25kgProvenance: Property of an Oxfordshire art professional; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1980s on the UK / International art markets.