Rooster-headed Ewer

12th-13th century

Bird’s-head ewers have existed in North Africa and West Asia since pre-Islamic times. Crafted in silver during the Sassanian era, their shape was taken up in China in the ceramics of the Tang dynasty, as well as in Syrian and Iranian workshops in the 13th century. The rooster crowing to herald the new day, its staring eye like a pledge of protection, had long been a central element in a complex web of divinatory practices and beliefs. This ewer is one of the rare specimens that presents a double reticulated wall in imitation of the metalwork of Khorasan. The neck bears an inscription in Arabic wishing the owner good fortune and a quatrain in Persian ending in this benedictory couplet: “I have held our love in the depths of my soul and discussed the slightest things with it, until the lover embraces the world to bring your love to it. May the Creator grant his protection to the owner of this ewer, wherever he may be.”