Ewer of Ibn Mawaliya
Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya al-Mawsili · First half of the thirteenth century (1200-1250)
A round-bellied brass ewer with a wide spout and a sturdy handle, its surface covered with engraved figures, animals and arabesques inlaid in silver and red copper. Bands of Arabic script encircle the body. They read: lasting glory, growing fortune, perpetual prosperity and generosity, the kind of blessing that made a fine ewer a fitting present. Look closely and you will find the signature of the maker, Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya, who adds the epithet al-Mawsili, from Mosul. The inscription was first deciphered as long ago as eighteen forty-six by the Italian orientalist Michelangelo Lanci.
Mosul, on the Tigris in northern Iraq, was the leading centre of inlaid metalwork in the early thirteenth century, and craftsmen proudly signed their pieces with the name of the city. Signed and localised vessels such as this one are the anchors that allow scholars to recognise the Mosul style elsewhere. The ewer came to the Louvre by bequest in nineteen thirty-two. Notice how the copper inlay gives a warm red note among the silver, a two-tone effect that Mosul workshops favoured.
Did You Know? The maker signed his name with the epithet al-Mawsili, the man from Mosul, a brand name for fine inlaid brass in the thirteenth century.
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