Lot Essay
The inscription reads:
'Allahumma iftah abwab al-dawla w'al-sa'ada w'al-futuha al-'asiya' (or 'al-ghashiya') 'fi kull yawm 'ala wajhi amir sahib qiran amir Taimur Gurgan fi shuhuri sana thamanu mi'a'
which can be translated:
'Oh God open the gates of prosperous rule and blessings and impending' (or 'hidden/future') 'victories every day before the face of the commander, Lord of the Conjunction, Prince Timur Gurgan, in the months of the year eight hundred (24 September 1397-14th September 1398)
This is the earliest surviving jade carving from the Islamic world, whether Iran or Central Asia. Timur's grandson, Ulugh Beg is the first Timurid prince whose interest in jade is recorded. It was he who brought back the great jade stone in 1425 from Issik-kul to Samarkand to provide the tombstone of Timur. Mirkhwand (Rawdat al-Safa) however notes that Timur ordered three blocks of jade himself. One of these was brought back to Samarqand before his death while the other two were brought back later by Ulugh Beg (Rogers, J.M. (transl.): 'V. V. Bartol'd's article "o Pogrebenii Timura"', Iran, Vol.XII, 1974, p.87)
The bowl is of a dark green to black nephrite similar to the jade of Timur's tombstone as well as certain of the jade vessels which have been attributed to Persia or Transoxiana in the fifteenth century (Pinder-Wilson, R.: Studies in Islamic Art, London 1985, p.114f.; Skelton, R.: 'Islamic and Mughal Jades', in Keverne, R. (ed.): Jade, London 1991, p.276.
At the date given in the inscription Timur was embarking on his Indian expedition, thus the invocation for victories was extremely appropriate. Timur adopted the title Gurgan to indicate his connection with the house of Chingiz Khan; the other title in the inscription Sahib Qiran signifies 'Lord of the Happy Conjunctions'.
Much of the literature in the Islamic World devoted to precious and semi-precious stones is concerned with their properties. Al-Buruni, the great polymath who enjoyed the patronage of the Ghaznavid sultans in the 11th century, wrote a treatise on minerals which includes an important description of jade. Quoting an earlier authority he tells us that the Turks use jade as a victory bearing stone, wearing it as decoration for their saddles, belts and swords (see lot 126 in this sale) in order to gain victory over their opponents. At a later date the encyclopaedist Qazvini reiterates this belief and says that pilgrims carry it as a protection against robbers, while kings wear it in their belts (Kitab al-jamahir fi m'arifat al-jawahir, ed. Krenkow, Hyderabad, AH1355, pp.198f.).
Timur would certainly have been familiar with this Turkish lore. His descendant, Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, recounts how the Uzbek general, when preparing for their ill-fated encounter with the forces of Shah Tahmasp near Jam in Khorassan, appealed to the magicians to use the 'victory stone' (Beveridge, A.S.: The Babur-nama in English, London 1921-2, p.623). It is not absolutely clear whether the jada stone as he calls it, was the same as the Persian yashm (jade). The magical qualities of the present bowl are also further indicated by its shape, reproducing very closely that of the early talismanic brass bowls such as lot 220 in this sale.
'Allahumma iftah abwab al-dawla w'al-sa'ada w'al-futuha al-'asiya' (or 'al-ghashiya') 'fi kull yawm 'ala wajhi amir sahib qiran amir Taimur Gurgan fi shuhuri sana thamanu mi'a'
which can be translated:
'Oh God open the gates of prosperous rule and blessings and impending' (or 'hidden/future') 'victories every day before the face of the commander, Lord of the Conjunction, Prince Timur Gurgan, in the months of the year eight hundred (24 September 1397-14th September 1398)
This is the earliest surviving jade carving from the Islamic world, whether Iran or Central Asia. Timur's grandson, Ulugh Beg is the first Timurid prince whose interest in jade is recorded. It was he who brought back the great jade stone in 1425 from Issik-kul to Samarkand to provide the tombstone of Timur. Mirkhwand (Rawdat al-Safa) however notes that Timur ordered three blocks of jade himself. One of these was brought back to Samarqand before his death while the other two were brought back later by Ulugh Beg (Rogers, J.M. (transl.): 'V. V. Bartol'd's article "o Pogrebenii Timura"', Iran, Vol.XII, 1974, p.87)
The bowl is of a dark green to black nephrite similar to the jade of Timur's tombstone as well as certain of the jade vessels which have been attributed to Persia or Transoxiana in the fifteenth century (Pinder-Wilson, R.: Studies in Islamic Art, London 1985, p.114f.; Skelton, R.: 'Islamic and Mughal Jades', in Keverne, R. (ed.): Jade, London 1991, p.276.
At the date given in the inscription Timur was embarking on his Indian expedition, thus the invocation for victories was extremely appropriate. Timur adopted the title Gurgan to indicate his connection with the house of Chingiz Khan; the other title in the inscription Sahib Qiran signifies 'Lord of the Happy Conjunctions'.
Much of the literature in the Islamic World devoted to precious and semi-precious stones is concerned with their properties. Al-Buruni, the great polymath who enjoyed the patronage of the Ghaznavid sultans in the 11th century, wrote a treatise on minerals which includes an important description of jade. Quoting an earlier authority he tells us that the Turks use jade as a victory bearing stone, wearing it as decoration for their saddles, belts and swords (see lot 126 in this sale) in order to gain victory over their opponents. At a later date the encyclopaedist Qazvini reiterates this belief and says that pilgrims carry it as a protection against robbers, while kings wear it in their belts (Kitab al-jamahir fi m'arifat al-jawahir, ed. Krenkow, Hyderabad, AH1355, pp.198f.).
Timur would certainly have been familiar with this Turkish lore. His descendant, Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, recounts how the Uzbek general, when preparing for their ill-fated encounter with the forces of Shah Tahmasp near Jam in Khorassan, appealed to the magicians to use the 'victory stone' (Beveridge, A.S.: The Babur-nama in English, London 1921-2, p.623). It is not absolutely clear whether the jada stone as he calls it, was the same as the Persian yashm (jade). The magical qualities of the present bowl are also further indicated by its shape, reproducing very closely that of the early talismanic brass bowls such as lot 220 in this sale.