Begging Bowl Iran, late 1700s–early 1800s steel with gold inscriptions, 5 1/4 x 14 inches (13.5 x 35.5 cm) Gift of Bj Averitt 1994.6 Rotate Begging Bowl

Mendicant Sufi holy men were a familiar sight throughout Islamic history. They chose lives of poverty, renouncing earthly goods and subsisting on offerings of food or money from the devout. Each would have carried a guide to worship and a kashkul, or begging bowl. This bowl is in the shape of a coco-de-mer, or double coconut, and bears the signature of the maker, Hajji ibn ‘Abbas.


To Southwest Asia