[Oman-L] Omani hammered copper - old or new?

[Perrycas]

well done Hielke, this was quite interesting
regards

Perry

van der Wijk wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> My understanding is as follows:
>
> The hammered copper from the 19th century and first half of the 20th 
> century is recognizable by the the use of a ZIP connection that is 
> used to fit different parts together. So both parts have a saw like 
> shape and subsequently they are zipped togher and hammered flat. More 
> modern copper is welded. Sometimes you see a ZIP design and welding, 
> but these are modern repairs. You have to look sometimes extremely 
> well to spot the ZIP design on high quality copper and silver coffee 
> pots. By the way: antique silver coffee pots in Oman are extremely rare.
>
> In Oman you also find antique items that look like copper but are in 
> fact made of bell metal. If you tick against them you get a sound like 
> from a bell. These bojects are cast rather than hammered. The designs 
> are sometimes crude but some designs are extremely fine Safavid 
> designs: For comparable bell Metal objects see the book *Islamic 
> metalwork from the Iranian World 8-18th centuries by A.S Melikan- 
> Chrivani (published by the V & A museum in London) . *Most collectors 
> think this stuff is from the 1840's however you can see in the book 
> that the high quality examples could be much older. This type of 
> copper was originally made in India and Persia. With the many contacts 
> with Persia it is not unlikely the stuff was imported from Persia or 
> made by persian craftsman (the second option is very viable as the 
> Persians have been in Oman for long periods e.g Nizwa). I read in one 
> of my old books that the souq in Nizwa used to be called the “Shirazzi 
> souk”. This stuff is also found in Yemen, some museum Books claim the 
> bell Metal is made in Yemen (I do not believe this).
>
> The Metal working craft was passed over from father to son. However 
> with every new generation the designs became less sharp and more 
> sloppy. Therefore one could argue: the more intricate the design the 
> more old!
>
> Warning: The bell metal items found in Oman are quite expensive and 
> have little value (so far) outside Oman. So be carfeful what you spent 
> your money on.
>
> It may be very interesting if resarch was done in the bell metal items 
> found in Oman. The V & A in London has a lot of expertise. It would be 
> very interesting if they had a look at some of the high quality items 
> that can be found and determine how old they are (16th century??)
>
> Hope this is of some use.
>
> Regards,
>
> Hielke van der Wijk
>
> Netherlands
>
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