Title: Incense Burner in the Form of an Elephant
Date: late 12th or early 13th century AD
Location: eastern Iran or northern India
Materials: copper alloy, cast, pierced and engraved
Dimensions: 19.5 x 16 x 9cm
Accession Number: MTW 1041
Other Notes:
The elephant’s head is hinged, giving access to the coal box, which is simply its belly. The construction and pierced decoration are rather different from the animal-shaped incense burners of pre-Mongol Iran, and, like the Indian theme of its decoration, may suggest that it was made in one of the sultanate states of northern India.
Bibliography:
J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.99, p.95.
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