id:			144668
accession number:	1969.291
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.291
updated:		2023-01-11 02:44:28.057000

Bath Pail (Satl), c. 1580–1610. Iran, Isfahan, Safavid period (1501-1722). Cast brass, turned, engraved, inlaid with black compound (niello); overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); diameter of base: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.); diameter of rim: 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc. 1969.291

title:				Bath Pail (Satl)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1580–1610
creation date earliest:		1580
creation date latest:		1610
current location:		116 Islamic
creditline:			Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc.
copyright:			

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culture:	Iran, Isfahan, Safavid period (1501-1722)
technique:	cast brass, turned, engraved, inlaid with black compound (niello)
department:	Islamic Art
collection:	Islamic Art
type:		Metalwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); Diameter of base: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.); Diameter of rim: 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Upper band:  
At the breath of dawn [my Beloved] came from her house toward the Bath,/
A thousand hearts became dust on the road beneath her steps./
From seeing Your face, the bath-house day and night/
[Has] a thousand colored eyes on the door and ceiling./
As soon as my Moon [-faced Beloved] comes into the Bath,/
My eye becomes this bathing cup, and by eyebrow its handle.
	translation:	
	remark:		

	inscription:	Lower band:
I remember an old master saying in the Bathhouse:/
One day a young person asked of an old man:/
"What is the secret that makes anyone who sets foot in the bathhouse,/
Find his saddened heart opened up to joy?"/
He said:  "The secret is that the bather has nothing of the trappings of this world/
But a bathing-bowl and towel -- and even those belong to others.
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation)
	opening date:   2021-05-21T04:00:00
	<i>Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	de Rothschild collection, Paris, France
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Rosenberg and Stiebel, Inc., New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1969
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1969-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Three animal motifs are repeated within the geometric interlacing: a doe with its head turned backward; a water fowl; and a horned animal, possibly an ibex.

digital description:


wall description:
Building on the tradition of ancient Roman baths, the <em>hammam</em> (public bath) was, and still is, an integral part of social life in the Islamic world. This pail was used to carry bathing equipment for a wealthy individual from their home to the hammam. It is decorated with an interlacing geometric design with a central band of repeating animals. Bathing was a popular theme with Iranian poets. On this piece, verses by the celebrated poet Jami (died 1492) relay the story of a youth inquiring as to why the hammam brings so much joy. An elder responds, “The secret is that the bather has nothing of the trappings of this world / But a bathing-bowl and towel—and even those belong to others.”
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.291/1969.291_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.291/1969.291_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.291/1969.291_full.tif