What are Victorian ewers?

What are Victorian ewers?

Spelter was widely used during the Victorian age (and later) to make inexpensive items such as candlesticks, clock cases, mantel decorations and figural items. Ewers such as this were often made during the late Victorian period to flank clocks that were designed to grace the mantel in the main parlor.

What is a glass ewer?

I have no idea how old it is, nor its value.”ABOUT EWERS: A ewer is a vase-shaped water pitcher or jug, usually with a flared base, stout handle and decorative spout.

What is a brass ewer?

UK art market. This tall and heavy Mughal brass ewer (aftaba) has a tall tapering, hexagonal foot; a tear-shaped tapering body; a squared mouth and lid; a curved handle; and a spout with a slight ‘S’ shape.

Why is the Corning Ewer important?

The Corning Ewer is the most accomplished example of Islamic cameo glass that is known to exist. Although it has only one good parallel made of glass (the Buckley Ewer), it closely resembles six rock crystal ewers that are attributed with confidence to workshops in Cairo.

Does an ewer have ears?

Ewer 1635. This austere and minimally-decorated silver ewer is remarkable for its clean outline and its energetic, sculptural profile. The dramatic sweep of the elongated spout is balanced by an ear-shaped handle fitted with a thumb piece allowing a grip that balances the weight of the filled vessel.

What is an Aftaba?

noun A vessel for water, like an aiguière with handle and long spout, made in Persia and northern India, commonly of metal, and decorated with enamels or damascening.

What is an Aftaba used for?

In India, local Muslims used such vessels for handwashing. They became a practical tool of hospitality, being used to welcome visitors by pouring scented water over the hands and feet and into a basin, and took on a great variety of shapes and types whilst adhering to the basic ewer form.

What is Islamic stained glass?

In the eighth century, glassmakers in Egypt discovered the technique of painting glass with metallic stain. Transparent stains colored with copper (which produces red or brown) and silver (which produces yellow) became a hallmark of early Islamic glassware in Egypt and the Near East (Figs.

What is Islamic glass used for?

Both as luxury goods that were traded and exchanged and as simple containers for oils, perfumes, and liquids of all kinds, Islamic glass circulated throughout the Islamic world and as far as southeastern Asia, northern China, and Europe.

What’s the difference between a jug and a ewer?

Ewer is an older word for a pitcher or jug of any type, though tending to be used for a vase-shaped pitcher, often decorated, with a base and a flaring spout. The word is now unusual in informal English describing ordinary domestic vessels.

What is the function of an ewer?

The ewer is attached at its sides to a metal arch, securing the ewer to a decorative base. The ewer hovers just above the base, allowing the user to simply tip the vessel over to pour out its contents without needing to pick-up the entire object.

Why do mosques have stained glass windows?

In Jerusalem’s Islamic architecture, stained glass is mainly used as an ornamental feature in the interior design of mosques and madrasas (theological institutions) like the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. Light penetrating through colored glass projects the lavish patterns on the interior surfaces.

When was Islamic stained glass made?

Probably Egypt, 11th-12th century.

What is the difference between a ewer and a pitcher?

What is a ewer and basin?

Between courses, guests were offered scented water from ewers such as this one to wash their hands, which they held out over shallow basins. Ewers and basins in precious metal were produced mainly for use on important occasions and would at other times be displayed on a buffet at the side of the room.

Did the Muslims invent eyeglasses?

The invention of medical glasses is attributed to the Muslim scholar Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Haytham , but before that the “reading stone” was used in the ninth century, which is a piece of glass divided in half that enlarges the written text when placed on it.

Where did the word ewer come from?

ewer (n.) “water pitcher with a wide spout,” early 14c., from Anglo-French *ewiere, Old French eviere “water pitcher,” parallel form of aiguiere (Modern French aiguière), from fem. of Latin aquarius “of or for water,” as a noun, “water-carrier” (see aquarium).