TheBobrinski Bucket, also called theBobrinski Kettle orBobrinski Cauldron (also spelled Bobrinsky), is a bronze bucket produced inHerat, present-dayAfghanistan in 1163C.E. (during the monthMuharram in 559A.H).[1] The bucket’s height is a mere 18.5 cm and consists of a rounded body with a rim and heightened base, and a handle in the shape of real and mythological creatures. The bucket is cast in bronze, with copper and silverinlaid decorations and inscriptions throughout the bucket’s handle, rim, and body. The body of the bucket features seven horizontal bands of inlaid decorations, including the rim, consisting of inscription and iconography. Discussion of the purpose of the bucket has sparked speculation among scholars ofIslamic Art.[2]
The bucket is named after its former owner,Count Aleksei Bobrinsky (1852–1927) and now resides in theHermitage Museum inSt. Petersburg,Russia.[2] The bucket is one the of most famous and earliest pieces ofPersian metalwork associated with Herat in the late 12th century and is one of the earliest examples of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic scripts.[3]
The Bobrinski Bucket is a prominent example of the inlay technique developed in twelfth century Herat. The bucket’s inlaid calligraphy was created usingsilver andcopper wire that was laid down in shallow recesses in thebronze body and hammered down until the wire was firmly inlaid. Similarly, for the spatial inlays, used in larger areas such as the human heads or bodies of animals, a silver or copper sheet was laid over an area where only the edges were trimmed back, and hammered until held well in place.[4] The copper and silver inlays create a multicolored, polychromatic surface for the bucket.
The division of labor between thecaster and decorator of the bucket follows a trend commonly observed in Persian art of the time. Allocating the designing of different elements of the metalwork to multiple people allowed artists to apply their designs to a variety of different objects, rather than only being able to create one object. This, along with the choice to use Persian and Arabic for the inscription solidifies the Bobrinski Bucket as an early and important work showcasing Herat as an important hub of production and craftsmanship, and highlights the emergence of Persian art during this period.[5]
The bucket features three bands ofcalligraphy. The first band of calligraphy is in ananthropomorphic script, meaning that the letters have human features. The second band is an interlacedKufic script with a geometric pattern. The third band consists of anthropomorphic script with the tails of the letters interlaced with running animals.[1] Such anthropomorphic andzoomorphic scripts are commonly found in works from the twelfth century.[1] These bands of inscription along the bucket’s body are written inArabic. The text consists of well wishes for the owner of the bucket, as is typical for portable Islamic metalwork.[1]
The rim of the bucket is inscribed inPersian. The inscription lists the bucket’s caster, Muhammed ibn ‘Abd al-Wāhid, and the person who applied the decorative elements to the bucket, Mas’ūd ibn Ahmad.[6] It also describes the person who ordered the bucket, ‘Abd al Rahmān ibn ‘Abdallāh al-Rashīdi, and the person who the bucket was made for, who the inscription refers to as “the eminenthajjiRukn ad-din, the glorious of merchants, theMuslims trusted man, an ornament to thehajj andboth holy places Rashid ad-Din Azizi ibn al-Husayn az-Zanjani, may his fame endure”.[6]
A Kufic inscription on the top of the handle reveals the month and year the bucket was completed.
From the top down, starting with the handle and ending at the bottommost band, the Bobrinski bucket is filled withiconography.
The images on the bucket are associated with the ideal kingship but due to their lack ofvisual hierarchy are actually thought to be stock images.[1] While most of the images are stock scenes, the meaning behind the sun in the uppermost band has been discussed. According toWilly Hartner the sun’s twenty-eight rays may be a coincidence, a reference to thedraconian calendar (which has twenty-seven and some months), or the twenty-eightlunar mansions.
There is much scholarly debate about the purpose and uses of the bucket. Early scholars such asRichard Ettinghausen and Ralph Harari have hypothesized that the bucket was used as a water bucket, as it exhibits similarities to one exhibited in a fifteenth century painting of a bathhouse.[8] The bucket’s bail handle could have been helpful in a bathhouse setting.[9] The historianNikolay Veselovsky had asserted that the bucket was a vessel for carrying food; However, the bucket lacks tinning on the interior that would have prevented corrosion from food.[8]Souren Melikian andRobert Hillenbrand have connected the bucket to the Hajj, suggesting that it was either a Pilgrimage accessory or marked the completion of the Hajj, based on the references to this in the bucket’s inscriptions.[2] Others have concluded that the bucket was a gift.[2] Ruba Kana’an’s interpretation of the bucket’s purpose is most widely accepted in present day scholarship of the Bobrinski Bucket. Kana‘an uses her extensive study of the legal writings of Muslim jurists to better understand the production and patronage of Islamic metalware. She concludes that the bucket was produced as a showpiece of new designs and images that was presented as a gift to the workshop owner.[6]