Ca. AD 7th-8th century. A silver elephant shaped incense burner engraved with the master’s signature لصيف لمع - “Fazil worked” or in Arabic “Faisal worked” to the back of the animals neck. The animal with rounded eyes standing foursquare with head held straight between pointed tusks, the body covered with a beaded harness and a saddle rug decorated with floral motifs, leading towards a openwork pyramid-shaped lid with an interlocking design. The rider, depicted wearing an ornate jacket with a high collar, and armed with a knife. The image of an elephant in Sogdian art is known from the paintings of the palace complex in Penjikent, the Red Hall, the palace in Varakhsh, in Uzbekistan, toward the end of the 7th - and the beginning of the 8th centuries, with the image of tigers attacking a warrior sitting atop a war elephant. Elephant images are also often found to be used within Sogdian fabrics of the 8th-9th centuries. The item is issued with a full historical report, please do get in touch for further information. Provenance: Property of a European collector; formerly in possession of Mr. Nathan Axtel, sold by the latter in London to Mr. Adrew Bannister in 1979. Bought by the current owner in London in 2019. Size: L:260mm / W: 900mm, Weight; 563g.