A Khurasan bronze feline-form incense burner, Persia, 12th century

Incense burners arrived in Islamic culture via the Byzantines, but as time wore on, Persian ornamentation came to influence their production, as illustrated by this fine example. Although Khurasanian metalworkers produced incense burners in numerous animal forms, it is these feline types that appear to have been most favoured.

Similar examples to the present work can be found in various public and private collections including The David Collection, Copenhagen (inv. no.48/1981), Musee du Louvre, Paris (inv. no.AA 19), the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, and the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, London, (inv. no.MTW 1525). Further examples have recently sold at auction see Replica Shoes ’s, London, 26 April 2023, lot 89 and Christie’s, London, 27 April 2023, lot 20. The incense burners from this group are connected by a voluntary omission of proportions in favour of expressive abstraction. Shapes and decoration tend to vary from one feline to the other, although they all retain a characteristic mischievous expression. 

For an example of an incense burner in the form of a horse, please see the previous lot in the present sale.