Vessels19th-20th century

Beehive Cover

19th-20th century

Description

This ceramic disk was used to cover one end of a beehive; its round hole admitted bees to a cylinder made of mud and reeds or cane, which was laid horizontally in a stack with other hives to protect them from winter weather. Such beehive covers have been used in Iran at least since the early eighteenth century. Talismanic designs or inscriptions, thought to aid the art of beekeeping, decorated these disks. This example features two long-necked birds, perhaps peacocks, facing each other. Their bodies are crosshatched, and flowering plants appear to sprout from their elaborate tails. Repeating floral motifs surround the birds, and the segment below them, containing the hole, is decorated to suggest a pool of water. Light cobalt is casually applied in the empty white areas and around the periphery. The beehive cover is intact except for chipped edges.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Underglazed, painted

Medium

Reddish earthenware covered in white slip and painted with brownish black (chromium, iron, and manganese) and blue (cobalt) under clear alkali glaze

Century

19th-20th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

21 cm (8 1/4 in.)

Provenance

Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (by 1978-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.

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