Bukharan Brass Teapot or Ewer

This Bukharan-style brass teapot is finely engraved.

The teapot is beautifully engraved with flowers, tendrils and leaf motifs. Each side is cast with a two-tiered almond-shaped lozenge, the centres of which are densely engraved with interlocking tendrils.

The flared foot is engraved with a band of flower motifs and other patterns.

Everywhere there are fine borders of the Central Asian almond motif – a symbol of prosperity and fertility.

The ‘S’ shaped handle is in the form of a highly stylised dragon or makara figure. The hinged lid or cover is pierced and has a lotus bud finial adjacent to another which tops the hinge flange.

The lid has small pebbles enclosed which jangle when the teapot is poured.

This vessel is a teapot rather than a coffeepot (even though its form is conventionally more of a coffeepot) because tea was the traditional hot beverage in Bukhara; coffee was not.

Overall, this is an excellent example of Central Asian metalwork. The vessel has a warm, golden patina and is free of dents or any other damage.