The Astrakhan Gallery’s collection of Asian and Oriental art was built on the works of masters of decorative and applied arts of Iran, India, China and Japan of the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the items were originally kept in private collections.
The copper jug, presented in the Collection of Foreign Art, has a traditional teardrop shape typical of Iranian pitchers. It is mounted on a tall, flared leg and has a serpentine spout with a stylized dragon’s head. It was transferred to the museum in 1918 from the collection of the Austrian merchant Otto Yakovlevich Wiblinger.
This shape of the jug made it one of the most convenient items for washing.
In the 18th century, dishes and household utensils made of copper played an important role in the daily life of Iranians. Copper utensils were mainly used for cooking and eating, and for storing water.
Most often, such utensils were decorated using the special metalworking technique called toreutics. It is an ancient Iranian craft that consists in forming minute detailed reliefs on metal items by hand. Gold, silver, bronze, iron and brass items were decorated in this manner, but copper was most popular — this material was the most convenient due to its softness and pliability, as well as comparatively low price.
The history of toreutic art in Iran has seen its ups and downs. Various cultural, political, economic, and social factors influenced the development of toreutics. It flourished during the Safavid dynasty, but during the Qajar period, it almost disappeared as the new rulers sought to erase all traces of their predecessors. Many artifacts from the Safavid era decorated with toreutics were destroyed during that time.
There are several styles of toreutic metalwork, including relief, medium relief, and engraving, with two main approaches: Isfahan and Tabriz styles. Artists that follow the Tabriz style use hand movements and their wrists to apply pressure on an instrument to make shallow notches, while in Isfahan toreutics, they use a hammer to hit the instrument, which creates deep notches and high relief.
The vessel from the collection of the Astrakhan Gallery is made in the Tabriz-style technique: it is decorated with shallow engraved patterns (men on horseback, elephants and birds in separate medallions that are arranged in a circular pattern separated by floral motifs). Engraved inscriptions in Farsi adorn the upper part of the vessel.
