A QAJAR REPOUSSÉ BRASS BOWL

The inscriptions contain verses from Sa’di’s Gulistan, followed by a date:

har chih ravad bar saram chun tu pasandi rava[st]
bandah chih da‘va kunad hukm-i khuda [rast]

“Whatever happens to me is correct since you [ie. God] have approved it,
How can the slave dispute it? God’s command is right.”

mihtari dar qabul-i farman ast
tark-i farman dalil-i haraman ast

“Greatness is in accepting commands,
Ignoring them is the sign of the excluded.”

har kih sima-yi rastan darad
sar-i khidmat bar astan darad 1084

“Whoever bears the sign of the righteous,
Places the head of service upon the threshold. 1084 (1673-4).”

On the inside of the bowl, the inscriptions around the centre includes a further couplet from the Gulistan of Sa‘di:

ta dil-i dustan bi-dast ari
bustan-i pidar furukhtah bih

“In order to gain the hearts of friends,
Sell even the garden of your father.”

In the centre is an owner’s inscription:

sahihubu khw[a]jah (?) wali bin (?) haji …

“Its owner, Khwajah (?) Wali bin Haji … ”