Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 8. (Budapest, 1965)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Ferenczy, László: A Saljuk bronze from Iran. A present from Sir Aurel Stein

the back and tail of the animal have engraved lines. Between the recumbent animals and the medallions of siren-birds are six arched triangles of floral pattern. The spacing of the animal figures and the siren-birds seems to have been difficult, for the triangles are not of equal size. One of them, for lack of space, is but a quarter of the original size and was placed only to maintain the symmetry. Above this zone of animals, siren-birds and triangles are three inscriptions in Kufic letters, again set in double bordered bands, divided by a medallion that has a small double circle engraved toward the top. The top of the stand has a cylindrical part which narrows upwards. It is closed by a flat disc on which is a wedge-shaped protrusion. This serves to lock the central vase-shaped part to the stand (see Fig. 5.). The diameter of the stand is 20,7 cm, its height 14 cm. The middle-part is vase-shaped, hollow cast (Fig. 3.). Its diameter is 5,8 cm, its height 8 cm. Its bottom is flat with an asymmetric longish opening. Into this the wedge-shaped protrusion fits, firmly connecting it to the stand thus the two may be lifted together. The top of the vase-shaped part is broken off; only a narrow part of the rim remains. The upper tray of the bronze might have been connected to the middle part in the same way as the latter is to the stand. At the base of the vase-shaped part, in a narrow band bordered with a double line, is a tendril ornament. The spherical part might have served to grasp the object, to lift it. Here, in bands bordered with double lines, short Kufic inscriptions are to be seen against an engraved floral background; they are separated by medallions similar to those on the stand. The Kufic letters are also of the same type. The surface below the upper rim is quite plain, as no ornamentation would have been seen. The topmost part is a slightly concave tray, its rim bending downwards (Fig. 4.). At the bottom is a long double-curved protrusion. It served obviously to fasten the tray to the middle part (Fig. 5.). In the centre of the tray is a circle bordered by a double engraved line, enclosed by a narrow band. Around this are four inscriptions in Kufic letters against a floral background, separated by medallions. The inscriptions are encircled by a broader zone of inscriptions formed by two fourfold-plaited bands. In the four long fields there are Naskhi inscriptions, in the medallions formed by the intertwining of the bands are floral ornaments. The tray's ornamentation is encircled by a double plaited ribbon band, similar to that on the stand. The vertical protruding rim of the tray is about one cm high, its outside is decorated with the plaited ribbon design, here merely indicated by engraved S-figures. On the outer, horizontal rim of the tray, which bends down, are six Kufic inscriptions. The ends of the fields are again concave ; the engraved medallions between them have plant patterns. The diameter of the tray is 21,3 cm, its height 2,3 cm. A piece of the rim with inscriptions is broken off. The first problem posed by this unusually shaped object is whether the three parts belong together. Apart from Sir Aurel's mentioning that he bought the three parts as a unit, the following support this : 1. The three parts are bronze, cast in the same technique. All have engraved ornamentation, none had inlay. 2. Considering its shape, the stand might be regarded as a separate candlestick but no quite similar form is mentioned in the literature. The long