A Khorasan silver and copper-inlaid bronze war hammer in the form of an elephant
Persia, 11th/ 12th Century
the head of trapezoid form with a central aperture to receive the haft, the sides engraved and decorated in silver and copper inlay with rosettes surrounded by circle motifs and inscriptions in kufic on a ground of scrolling tendrils, the face in the form of an elephant head, a large foliate motif to the trunk, inscriptions to the ears
11.6 cm. max.
Footnotes:
Provenance
The Mohammed Khalil Collection.

Published
M. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. I, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 245, cat. no. 43.

Inscriptions: al-'izza [sic] wa al-i/qbal wa al-da[wla], 'Glory and prosperity and wealth'; 'ali-yi / kharrad(?), ''Ali son of Kharrad(?)'.

A group of four hammerheads of elephant form can be found in the Furusiyya Art Foundation, attributed to the Ghaznavid or Gurid period (see Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, the Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, 2007, p. 258, no. 248). Another was sold in these rooms, Islamic and Indian Art, 24 April 2012, lot 77.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R
* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.
R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.