Bronze divination bowl, Turkey, 1451

Made:
1451 in Turkey
Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Bronze divination cup, inlaid with gold and silver
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Bronze cup, inlaid with gold and silver, with an inscription around the rim addressed to Muhammed II, Sultan of Turkey, 1451.

Divination was used in medicine to try to determine the cause of an illness and to give some indication as to suitable treatments. The inscription engraved around the rim of this bronze silver-plated bowl is written in Thuluth, an Arabic calligraphic script introduced in the late 800s CE. The inscription reads:

“Glory and good fortune to our Lord the Victorious, the perfect one, the Sultan Khan Muhammad in the year 855.”

The year 855 in the Islamic calendar is equivalent to 1451 CE. The Sultan ruled the Ottoman Empire (now modern day Turkey) from 1451-1481. It is not known whether this is a divination bowl or if it was given to wish health to the owner throughout their life.

Details

Category:
Ethnography and Folk Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A629457
Materials:
complete, bronze, silver and gold
Measurements:
overall: 70 mm x 152 mm, 0.39kg
type:
divination bowl
credit:
Sotheby's