A Seljuk Carved Wooden Door, North East Iran, 11th Century

23 mars 2009

A Seljuk Carved Wooden Door, North East Iran, 11th Century

A Seljuk Carved Wooden Door, North East Iran, 11th Century. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2009

Of rectangular form with three inset rectangular panels, a hinge pin above and below, the central large panel deeply carved with scrolling vine around two confronted unicorns with everted heads below two addorsed lions with inverted heads, a panel of strong naskh with elongated hastae above and below, the upper and lower panels each of a darker wood carved with scrolling vine around a more delicately drawn naskh inscription, set within a frame of interlaced arabesques with inner bands of meandering vine, plain outer stripe, considerable traces of polychrome decoration, slight damages. Door panel 51¼ x 17¼in. (130 x 44cm.) - Estimate £120,000 - £180,000

Notes: The naskh inscription in the upper panel reads: wa al-ni'ma [w]al-rahma (and Grace of God [and] mercy).

The bold panels at top and bottom of the central panel each read wa al-dawla (and wealth).

The lower panel in kufic reads wa al-baraka wa al- (and blessing and).

The inner moulding around one panel is interrupted at one place with the word al-mulk (sovreignty) repeated once.

Very little today survives from architectural contexts in north East Iran. Books on architecture portray a series of semi-ruinous buildings, often with decoration of which only fragments or traces survive. It is remarkable therefore to discover the present door, not only surviving from this period, but also in very well-preserved. What is more, due to the animals depicted on it, not to mention the remarkably prominent placing of the inscription referring to wealth, we can be reasonably sure that it was originally intended for a secular setting, whose fittings have survived even less than the religious equivalents.

The door uses a typical Iranian layout with a larger central decorative panel flanked by two smaller panels each with inscriptions. It is the central panel that is the most unusual, with its powerful but somewhat naïve depictions of lions and unicorns. A close examination of the upper panel shows that a similar ibex with curved horns is superimposed on the benedictory naskh inscription.

In his seminal study on the unicorn, Richard Ettinghausen demonstrated that, while no depictions have survived, the unicorn was known already in late Sassanian times (Richard Ettinghausen, The Unicorn: Studies in Muslim iconography, I, Washington D.C., 1950, p.150). He shows in pl.4 a photograph of a 12th century Khurasani bronze bucket at the time in the posession of Stora which is engraved with two unicorns. These share a number of features with the two depicted here. The bodies face each other but the heads are turned away. The forelegs are prominently forward. Both are depicted against a ground of scrolling vegetation. It seems almost certain that both come from the same iconograhic tradition.

Such a date would also fit very well with the epigraphy seen on the upper and lower panels. The combination of a slightly attenuated kufic with a very fleshy naskh is one that is known from a great many inlaid bronze vessels from Khurasan. The benedictory phrases contained in the panels are also found on many a bronze vessel from the same area and period. All these factors serve to confirm the remarkable survival of this door, in good condition, from a period from which we have very little today.

Two separate carbon date tests have been performed on the door by RadioCarbon Dating with reports dated 8th March 2004. Sample RCD-5788, taken from the central panel, gave a 68 probability of a date of 1020-1060 AD plus 1080-1160 AD and a 95 probility of a date of 1020-1170 AD. Sample RCD-5789, taken from the lower kufic panel gave a 68 probability of a date of 989-1022 AD and a 95 probility of a date of 900-920 AD plus 960-1040 AD plus 1140-1160 AD. These therefore combine at either 1020-1040 AD or 1120-1140 AD, consistent with the proposed dating of the door.