Bucket

This large bucket belongs to a group of inlaid metalware that has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Most of the vessels are notable for their intricately layered surface decoration combining both the engraving and inlay techniques. In the past, these vessels have been attributed to Muslim craftsmen working in mid-sixteenth-century Venice. Recent scholarship has convincingly argued against a Venetian origin, proposing that they were produced in Syria in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Made primarily for export, some of the vessels carry European coats of arms, while others are listed in European inventories. Moreover, in the sixteenth century, Venetian metalworkers began to produce their own versions of this type of ware, a testament to its persistent popularity in Europe.