id: 126089 accession number: 1948.308.a share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.308.a updated: 2022-06-14 09:00:28.765000 Feline Incense Burner, 1150–1200. Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037–1194). Copper alloy, cast, engraved, chased, and pierced; overall: 35.5 x 11 cm (14 x 4 5/16 in.); head: 17.8 x 9.5 x 12.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1948.308.a title: Feline Incense Burner title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1150–1200 creation date earliest: 1150 creation date latest: 1200 current location: 116 Islamic creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037–1194) technique: Copper alloy, cast, engraved, chased, and pierced department: Islamic Art collection: Islamic Art type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 35.5 x 11 cm (14 x 4 5/16 in.); Head: 17.8 x 9.5 x 12.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Qur'an sura al-jum'ah (The Friday Congregation) 62:9-10 (on neck and spine) translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Islam and the Medieval West opening date: 1975-04-06T04:00:00 Islam and the Medieval West. University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (April 6-May 4, 1975). title: Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture opening date: 1975-09-24T04:00:00 Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Kunstschatze aus Iran. DIE WOCHE, Zurich, Switzerland (6/6/1962). --- PROVENANCE (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: ?-1948 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1948- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: A Kufic inscription against a background of scrolling arabesques runs along the back and neck of the feline form. digital description: wall description: In Iran during the 1000s and 1100s, vessels in the shape of animals gained popularity, especially as incense burners. Felines were favored in Persian art and this piece may represent a caracal, a type of lynx. The head of the creature was cast separately and is removable to fill its body with hot coals and incense. Qur’anic verses on the neck and spine remind worshippers to set work aside, attend prayer, and then disperse to seek God’s bounty. The diffusion of perfumed smoke through the burner’s pierced palmette design may have served as a sensorial reminder of this teaching. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 707 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n129 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 208 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n232 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 208 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n232 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 264 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n284 Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 226–227 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1948.308.a/1948.308.a_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1948.308.a/1948.308.a_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1948.308.a/1948.308.a_full.tif