Metropolitan Museum, Coursework Example

Ewers are vase-shaped pitchers decorated in ornate patterns that blur the lines between functional vessel and artistic masterpieces fit for the museum. The ewer signed by Ibn Yazid is one such piece that retains its core function but from the mastery and investment of time and materials the perception of this piece is that it was used from something more than the transfer of water from pitcher to cup.

The ewer placed in a large glass enclosure positioned in such a way that the decorative neck of the ewer is placed at eye level. The enclosure is painted in a neutral off-white tone so not to drive the viewer’s mind away from the ewer itself. The artwork itself is placed along the wall and is easily accessible by all patrons to the museum. The ewer may no longer hold water or wine but it does hold the ability to provoke thought and intrigue in correlation with the other pieces in the room. The ewer is placed next to fragments of an arch carved out of limestone. The archway was thought to adorn the upper portions of an audience hall. Although the pieces are not complimentary in artistic media or decoration; they are perfectly complimentary in terms of use and setting the stage for the patron to envision large spaces with people and music. The arches are being passed under and water is flowing on special occasions for the visitors to drink.

The ewer may have never been intended to grace the halls of the Metropolitan Museum but it was intended to be seen by those living and visiting the palaces. The ewer would have been placed on the table among vast quantities of fruit and bread. This vessel would have been a cherished piece of work if owned by the common or middle class section of society but since the vastly wealthy class of society used the ewer, the beauty was superseded by the utility of the object.

Once I walked into the room housing the ewer that I wanted to view I was surprised to see the size of all the objects in the room. The arch lay on the ground beside the pedestal and enclosure that housed the ewer. As I followed the lines of the arch flowed up to the ewer. I expected the ewer to be much smaller than what I experienced at the museum. The vessel I pictured would fit two fold into the ewer at the museum. The carvings in the top and bottom were done with great skill and ability which transcended the tolls of time. The inscriptions looked as fresh and sharp as if they were done today and the immeasurable amount of time and labor that went into just decorating this ewer is astonishing.

The entire ewer looks like it would hold three gallons of water. I could picture this large ewer being passed from nobility to nobility or a servant carrying the heavy weight of the water and the ewer from one person to the other to fill their cups and their needs. This piece was the vessel for transferring beverages but it also moved more than fluid. This vessel lubricated the social life and could have been the catalyst in many decisions made during the ewer’s service. The handle of the ewer looks like a massive handle from an ornate sword but instead of a blade fixed to the handle there is a series of leaves that come out of it. The leaf that curves into the neck of the ewer allows the leaf to splay across the rim and act as a form of support and beauty.

I can picture the liquid flowing out of the tip of the leaf into the cups of aristocrats enjoying the festivities. The other leaf throws itself back away from the neck of the ewer in a way to counter balance the body of the piece and also give the handle more surface area to distribute the weight when the workers carry it around. I stared at the handle and every time I tried to describe it I kept coming back to the fact that it is solid and stout. It balances the frail nature of leaves with the enduring tenacity of solid copper.

The body of the ewer was decorated with finely carved lines that mimicked the swirls and curves of a peacock’s wispy tail feathers. Although they are not directly connected the visual effects are the same. The body is bulbous but thick. The copper body was formed with decoration and panels that look as though they add to the rigidity of the ewer but also add a depth to the overall piece. The same panels are replicated on the neck between a series of vines that look like a view of a nicely trimmed grape vineyard from forty yards away.

This vessel reminds me of the chalices used by kings in medieval times. Not due to the visual cues each give of but in the functionality each on facilitates. The beauty of these tools was used to facilitate convergences of great powers and their beauty and strength are similar. Celebrations and feasts were often used to bring two larger groups of people together to build trust and bonds between disparate kingdoms and families.