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Classification
Metalwork
Object name
Torch Stand
Geography
Iran
Period
Safavid, 16th century CE
Dynasty
Safavid
Materials and technique
Cast brass
Dimensions
Height 43.2 cm
Accession number
AKM00614
Description
This Safavid torch stand (mash'al, or pillar candlestick) is profusely decorated with a combination of floral and vegetal motifs and inscriptions. The texts on it are verses of Persian mystical poetry, a motif which appeared earlier in fifteenth-century metalwork under the Timurids and continued to be used under the Safavids. The verses have profound mystical overtones and communicate the desire to be subsumed in the divine nature, like the moth who is so attracted to the candle’s flame he burns his wings. There are similar torch stands in major public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Metropolitan Museum, Musée des arts décoratifs and the Hermitage (see Melikian-Chirvani 1982).
Other similar artefacts
32 pieces found
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