Der außergewöhnliche Jagd-Dekor einer persischen Flasche aus dem 17. Jahrhundert

Bemerkungen zu Tracht und Jagdutensilien unter Berücksichtigung gesellschaftshistorischer Aspekte

Abstract

This article deals with the sujet of a Safavid period ceramic bottle, a vessel with a laterally flattened body and tubular neck, designs reserved in white and outlined in black against a blue ground. It is one of a series, each decorated with the same continuous scene. One side shows a hunter with a gun aiming at an animal, while on the other side a man carrying a doe on his shoulders stands vis à vis to a kneeling woman. The figures are posed amongst plants with veined leaves distributed over the surface – a motif which derives from Chinese Yuan porcelain. The motif of hunting party is a genuine Persian contribution and for these new aspects of the iconographic designs are discussed. Proper attention will be given to the costumes and equipment of the protagonists. The gown and long veil of the young woman might be looked at as traditional Persian, but the outfit of the two hunters has been supposed to be under European influence which now can not be denied. One of the figures might imitate the fashion preferred by stylishly dressed Safavid princes, while the clothing of the kneeling gunman, especially the long tunic, resembles the Turkmenian habit. The latter protagonist actually represents the more interesting part of the scenery, not only because of his powder flask and cartridge box. He is trying either to blow a match (fuse) to prepare his matchlock gun or to bite off a paper cartridge. An excursion considering the cultural-historical background recalls the status of wine-con-
sumption as a literal and iconographic topos in Persia and especially in the Safavid era. The question of provenience is difficult to answer because of the lack of seals/marks on this kind of domestic pottery which tried to imitate the taste of the court. Design in black outlines appeared at both Mashhad and Kerman. Early European traders mostly state Mashhad as the place of manufacture. To define a date we rely on the style of design on this as well as other related pieces which would suggest the middle of the 17th century.