Inlaid Pigeon

In the Qajar period (1785-1925), steel with gold overlay was used for both decorative and useful items. Many of the decorative steel items of the Qajar period were sculptural shapes with very little precedent in the Islamic world. The roosters, pigeon and pear displayed here fall into this category. Only the ewer is a utilitarian object, although it, too, is very sculptural, with a graceful shape characteristic of the Qajar era. Notes from the Glory and Prosperity exhibition, Feb - June 2002.