Antique Arab/Persian unique “Magic” silver chased engraved bowl/cup 

   Handmade unique “Magic” silver cup/bowl with Arab/Persian ornaments from the 16-17th century. We offer a unique handcrafted of silver “Magic” cup/bowl with Persian ornaments with a figure of a hunter with a bow and spear with a flag on a horse, two dogs and a large bird. These are the images on the outside of the cup, which are surrounded by a round geometric braid with 4 floral ornaments. At the bottom in the center of the cup is depicted a ritual magical geometric figure in the shape of a flower. You see a gorgeous handmade silver cup from the 16-17th century decorated with floral, geometrical and animal ornaments. This is an old Muslim holy cup decorated with religious symbols. Their purpose is to protect the home of the faithful from evil spirits and spells. Water is placed in the bowl and when it comes in contact with the sacred a ritual magical geometric figure inscriptions, it is capable of healing all illness. Tradition dictates that every Muslim home to have such a cup. The origins of this cup is Persian. The bowl is in good condition - with only minimal edge breakage and a small circular abrasion - these two shortcomings are clearly visible in the last two photos.

Cup/bowl weighs 124.8 grams, height about 40 mm/1.6 inches and bore diameter 129 mm/ 5.1 inches. Gorgeous acquisition for collectors and antiquarians - you get what you see in the pictures. 

   During the Safavid period, utensils made of copper, silver and bronze for religious and sacred places were common in this era. The designs mostly included winged animals with lion heads, the plants and birds, the courtier parties and fights and hunting, dancers, musicians and musical instruments, engraved on the gold and silver. Metalwork was produced so elaborately that gained the world reputation, and it was exported to different parts of the world at that time.

   The Safavid dynasty (/ˈsæfəvɪd, ˈsɑː-/; Persian: دودمان صفوی, romanized: Dudmâne Safavi, pronounced [d̪uːd̪ˈmɒːne sæfæˈviː]) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran from 1501 to 1736. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid order of Sufism, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but during their rule they intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries, nevertheless they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified. From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially known as Iran. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Good luck and enjoy your bidding. If you have additional questions please do not hesitate to contact me.