拍品专文
The construction of this grille is extremely fine. As the diagram illustrates, it is made up of more than 1000 small individually fashioned elements
This grille formed part of a screen possibly originally intended for a shrine. The doors that come from the same ensemble were sold recently on the London market. They have exactly the same construction as the grille. The plain frames are engraved with inscription cartouches which we are informed read:
'The work of Kamal al-Din Pornak' (the blacksmith)
'Engraved by Muhammad Nishan Saz'
and 'Calligraphy by Muhammad Reza'.
The doors also bear the date of AH 1110 (1698-9 AD)
A Safavid pierced steel panel has been recently published signed by Kamal al-Din Mahmud b. 'Ali Reza Narzuk (Momtaz, I.: A Perspective of Unity, London, 1995). The two items are contemporaneous, and signatures at this period rare, so it seems probable that these are two different signatures of the same artisan.
It is also interesting to note that the calligrapher mentioned on the frame was responsible for calligraphy in carved wood executed the same year, carved on panels strongly reminiscent of the pierced steel panels of the same period (Fehérvári, G. and Safadi, Y.H.: 1400 Years of Islamic Art, A Descriptive Catalogue, Khalili Gallery, London, 1981, nos.157a-f, p.230)
This grille formed part of a screen possibly originally intended for a shrine. The doors that come from the same ensemble were sold recently on the London market. They have exactly the same construction as the grille. The plain frames are engraved with inscription cartouches which we are informed read:
'The work of Kamal al-Din Pornak' (the blacksmith)
'Engraved by Muhammad Nishan Saz'
and 'Calligraphy by Muhammad Reza'.
The doors also bear the date of AH 1110 (1698-9 AD)
A Safavid pierced steel panel has been recently published signed by Kamal al-Din Mahmud b. 'Ali Reza Narzuk (Momtaz, I.: A Perspective of Unity, London, 1995). The two items are contemporaneous, and signatures at this period rare, so it seems probable that these are two different signatures of the same artisan.
It is also interesting to note that the calligrapher mentioned on the frame was responsible for calligraphy in carved wood executed the same year, carved on panels strongly reminiscent of the pierced steel panels of the same period (Fehérvári, G. and Safadi, Y.H.: 1400 Years of Islamic Art, A Descriptive Catalogue, Khalili Gallery, London, 1981, nos.157a-f, p.230)