Ghaznavid Massive Door Handle Pair
11th-13th century A.D. A pair of zoomorphic bronze door handles, each composed of a domed openwork plate and cylindrical shaft balustered towards the finial, which is formed as the forequarters of a leaping feline; embellished with light blue inlays to the animals' eyes, openwork knotwork to their chests and openwork foliate motifs to parts of the shaft; engraved geometric and floral decoration across the body. Cf. Fehervari, G., Islamic Metalwork of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection, London, 1976, pl.38, no.114, for a similar protome; Allan, J.W., The Metalwork Industry in Iran in the Early Islamic Period, Oxford, 1976, pl.88; Allan, J.W., Nishapur: Metalwork from the Early Islamic Period, New York, 1982, figs.173, 175, 176, 178, 182. 6.39 kg total, 62-64 cm (24 3/8 - 25 1/8 in.). Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Previously with Mansour Gallery, London W1. Property of a North West London gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11512-193701. The function of these objects seems to have been to act as a pair of handles for a big bronze door. A near identical specimen (with similar inlays of blue stones for the eyes) published by Fehervari, who considers the animal to be a lion or a hare, was thought to be a leg of a large vessel, or part of a baluster shaft of a lamp stand. The history of Khorasan in the second half of the twelfth century was extremely turbulent, during which a great amount of metalwork was presumably lost or melted down. Therefore, it is quite remarkable that such an important pair has survived. [2] [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]