Beaker

Description Created in present-day Syria, during a period of religious conflict known as the Crusades (1097–1291), this beaker reflects the artistic and cultural diversity of the eastern Mediterranean region in its decoration and motifs. The figural and architectural motifs form scenes that represent Christian themes. They include a figure riding a grey donkey—possibly Christ entering Jerusalem. A larger vessel in the Walters collection (Walters 47.17), perhaps made to pair with this beaker, depicts figures resembling saints alternating with two-storied, domed structures that may represent monastic communities. Above these scenes, inscriptions praising an unnamed ruler are written in Arabic, a language familiar to anyone living in this region.

Exhibitions

• Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford. 1981-1983.
• Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.
• Venice and The Islamic World, 827-1797 (Venise et l'Orient). Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris Cedex 05; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2006-2007.
• Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2016-2017.

Provenance G. Dattari, Cairo, by 1912. Sale, Hirsch-Sambon, Paris, 1912, lot nos. 608, 609. Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York, by 1925; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

Inscriptions [Translation] Glory to our master ... the just ...

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1925