{
"data": {
"id": 126089,
"accession_number": "1948.308.a",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Feline Incense Burner, 1150\u20131200. Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037\u20131194). 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",
"current_location": "116 Islamic",
"title": "Feline Incense Burner",
"creation_date": "1150\u20131200",
"creation_date_earliest": 1150,
"creation_date_latest": 1200,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037\u20131194)"
],
"technique": "Copper alloy, cast, engraved, chased, and pierced",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Islamic Art",
"collection": "Islamic Art",
"type": "Metalwork",
"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.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.355,
"height_inch": 14,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.0,
"width": 0.11,
"width_inch": 4,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.3125,
"length": 0.325,
"length_inch": 12,
"length_inch_fraction": 0.8125
},
"head": {
"height": 0.178,
"height_inch": 7,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.0,
"width": 0.095,
"width_inch": 3,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.75,
"depth": 0.125,
"depth_inch": 4,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.9375
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "Qur'an sura al-jum'ah (The Friday Congregation) 62:9-10 (on neck and spine)",
"inscription_translation": "The inscription reads in part: \"O believers, when proclamation is made for prayer on the Day of Congregation, hasten to God's remembrance and leave trafficking aside... then, when the prayer is finished, disperse through the land and seek God's bounty, and remember God frequently that you may prosper.\"",
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": null
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 377642,
"title": "Islam and the Medieval West",
"description": "Islam and the Medieval West. University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (April 6-May 4, 1975).",
"opening_date": "1975-04-06T04:00:00"
},
{
"id": 302145,
"title": "Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture",
"description": "Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).",
"opening_date": "1975-09-24T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "Kunstschatze aus Iran. DIE WOCHE, Zurich, Switzerland (6/6/1962).",
"opening_date": "1962-06-06T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "?-1948",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1948-",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "A Kufic inscription against a background of scrolling arabesques runs along the back and neck of the feline form.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"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\u2019anic verses on the neck and spine remind worshippers to set work aside, attend prayer, and then disperse to seek God\u2019s bounty. The diffusion of perfumed smoke through the burner\u2019s pierced palmette design may have served as a sensorial reminder of this teaching.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60780023"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1948.308.a-feline-incense-burne"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "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"
},
{
"citation": "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"
},
{
"citation": "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"
},
{
"citation": "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"
},
{
"citation": "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\u2013227",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.308.a",
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"creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 126089,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1948-11-03T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1150,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "1150\u20131200",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "part",
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"cover_accession_number": "1948.308",
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Lion Incense Burner"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-06-17 11:19:43.732000"
}
}