migrations
objects, patterns, and people
From around 1000 to around 1500 CE, several tribal groups moved across Asia from the borders with China to the edge of Europe. These movements displaced not only people but also objects, forms, decorative motifs, and techniques. In this period, you could find almost identical tiles on a building in Samarkand (in present-day Uzbekistan) and in Edirne (in present-day Turkey).
> COURT FASHION
> TRANSFER OF OBJECTS
> TRANSFER OF PATTERNS
court fashion
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
During such invasions, decorative motifs, objects, and people — with their fashion and costumes — all moved across Central Asia. This metal handbag is unique — no other like it has survived to the present day. It was made in Mosul, a chief Islamic metalwork centre, for a wealthy Mongol lady living in Iran.
MORE TO EXPLORE
Dr Safa Lutfi, Professor of Aesthetics of Design in Arab and Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Babylon, shares her interpretation of the Courtauld Handbag.
Metal Handbag. Mosul, Northern Iraq, 1300-30 CE
court fashion
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
On its lid, the bag shows a banquet scene which is set in an Iranian style court – but it features people dressed in Mongol hats. The lady and her husband are sitting on a throne with a male attendant wearing a similar handbag hanging from his shoulder.
Court scene on the bag’s lid with highlighted details of the Mongol hats and attendant wearing similar bag.
The Courtauld Gallery, London.
Detail of Persian manuscript showing two attendants carrying a mirror and a handbag similar to the one in this exhibition, as seen in the metal handbag’s lid. Khwaju of Karman, 1396 CE.
© British Library Board: Add MS 18113, fol. 40v.
transfer of objects
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
In the 1000s CE, a group of
Turkish tribes from the Aral Sea
regions moved into mainland
Persia and conquered land all
the way to Anatolia (modern-day
Turkey) founding the so-called
Seljuk Empire. Artefacts moved
freely through this vast empire
which stretched all the way across
Central Asia and the Eastern
coast of the Mediterranean.
Seljuk Empire in 1071
transfer of objects
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
Candlesticks like this one were
extremely common and were always the same size and weight. In fact they were so uniform that
the Persian polymath Qazwīnī
(1203–83 CE) declared that the
inhabitants of Tabriz: “also use
objects such as candlesticks as currency".
Candlestick of cast bronze engraved
and inlaid with silver. Eastern Anatotolian
(Konya?), Turkey, late 1200s CE
transfer of patterns
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
At the beginning of the 1200s
CE, nomadic tribes from a
region bordering Russia and
China — led by Genghis
Khan (1116–1227 CE) —
swept through Central Asia
and reached the eastern
Mediterranean. This invasion
led to a movement of people
who transported decorative
motifs from China all the way to Egypt and beyond.
transfer of patterns
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
This bowl was made in Egypt after the Mongol invasion. It features
a lotus flower, a plant found in East and South East
Asia and widely used in Indian and Chinese Art.
Bowl of brass, originally inlaid with
silver. Egypt, 1375–1425 CE.
We hope you enoyed your visit
> Come back and see us again
Migration: Precious and Rare (Courtauld)
History of Science M
Created on October 9, 2020
Final circ for sign-off: Courtauld Full Exhibition (all themes)
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Transcript
migrations
objects, patterns, and people
From around 1000 to around 1500 CE, several tribal groups moved across Asia from the borders with China to the edge of Europe. These movements displaced not only people but also objects, forms, decorative motifs, and techniques. In this period, you could find almost identical tiles on a building in Samarkand (in present-day Uzbekistan) and in Edirne (in present-day Turkey).
> COURT FASHION
> TRANSFER OF OBJECTS
> TRANSFER OF PATTERNS
court fashion
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
During such invasions, decorative motifs, objects, and people — with their fashion and costumes — all moved across Central Asia. This metal handbag is unique — no other like it has survived to the present day. It was made in Mosul, a chief Islamic metalwork centre, for a wealthy Mongol lady living in Iran.
MORE TO EXPLORE
Dr Safa Lutfi, Professor of Aesthetics of Design in Arab and Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Babylon, shares her interpretation of the Courtauld Handbag.
Metal Handbag. Mosul, Northern Iraq, 1300-30 CE
court fashion
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
On its lid, the bag shows a banquet scene which is set in an Iranian style court – but it features people dressed in Mongol hats. The lady and her husband are sitting on a throne with a male attendant wearing a similar handbag hanging from his shoulder.
Court scene on the bag’s lid with highlighted details of the Mongol hats and attendant wearing similar bag. The Courtauld Gallery, London.
Detail of Persian manuscript showing two attendants carrying a mirror and a handbag similar to the one in this exhibition, as seen in the metal handbag’s lid. Khwaju of Karman, 1396 CE. © British Library Board: Add MS 18113, fol. 40v.
transfer of objects
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
In the 1000s CE, a group of Turkish tribes from the Aral Sea regions moved into mainland Persia and conquered land all the way to Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) founding the so-called Seljuk Empire. Artefacts moved freely through this vast empire which stretched all the way across Central Asia and the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
Seljuk Empire in 1071
transfer of objects
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
Candlesticks like this one were extremely common and were always the same size and weight. In fact they were so uniform that the Persian polymath Qazwīnī (1203–83 CE) declared that the inhabitants of Tabriz: “also use objects such as candlesticks as currency".
Candlestick of cast bronze engraved and inlaid with silver. Eastern Anatotolian (Konya?), Turkey, late 1200s CE
transfer of patterns
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
At the beginning of the 1200s CE, nomadic tribes from a region bordering Russia and China — led by Genghis Khan (1116–1227 CE) — swept through Central Asia and reached the eastern Mediterranean. This invasion led to a movement of people who transported decorative motifs from China all the way to Egypt and beyond.
transfer of patterns
migrations: objects, patterns, and people
This bowl was made in Egypt after the Mongol invasion. It features a lotus flower, a plant found in East and South East Asia and widely used in Indian and Chinese Art.
Bowl of brass, originally inlaid with silver. Egypt, 1375–1425 CE.
We hope you enoyed your visit
> Come back and see us again