Blacas ewer

The Blacas ewer is a brass

ewer, inlaid with silver and copper, made by an esteemed man, Shuja' ibn Man'a al-Mawsili in Mosul in April or May 1232 (Rajab, 629 AH).^[1] One of the most important and well-known pieces of metalwork from Mosul, it was likely commissioned for Badr al-Din Lu'lu', who was already the de facto ruler of Mosul when the ewer was made and who officially became ruler one year later.^[1] Until 1997, the Blacas ewer was the only known piece of metalwork with an inscription explicitly saying it was made in Mosul.^[2]

^: 12 ^: 23 Because of this inscription, it forms one of the core items of the contested "Mosul School" of metalwork, since its Mosuli provenance is undisputed.^[2]^: 23, 30

The Blacas ewer is the only known work by Shuja' ibn Man'a.^[2]^: 23 It formed the part of the personal collection of the French antiquarian Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas, which was published in 1828.^[2]^: 12 It is now on display at the British Museum in London, which has owned it since 1866.^[1]

The Blacas Ewer is missing its foot and spout, but it doesn’t take away from the beautiful designs, structure, and origins of the ewer. It is decorated with a geometric

Bahram Gur hunting on camelback while Azadeh plays the harp by his side—a story from the Shahnama.^[1] Several scenes depict "women of high social rank": for example, one scene depicts a woman riding a camel, another depicts a veiled woman playing the lute, and another shows a woman sitting cross-legged while admiring herself in the mirror.^[1] The overall design composition is reminiscent of Chinese textiles, which may have served as an inspiration.^[1] In this case, though, the design is interrupted by an octagonal symbol filled with geometric patterns, which may have been a brand mark or guild emblem.^[2]

^: 30–1

The scenes illustrated on the ewer depict contemporary life of the wealthy and powerful, likely reflecting the high status of its original owner.[3]