21 A PERSIAN NOBLE LADY AS AN ACROBAT PERFORMING A HANDSTAND

Qajar Empire

Attributable to the Artist

‘Ahmad’ (Active between 1815-1850).

First Half of the 19th Century

Dimensions: 151.5 x 86 cm.

Oil on canvas, depicting a Persian noble lady, possibly a member of the Qajar imperial harem, as an acrobat performing a handstand, wearing a lavish costume embroidered with roses and decorated with pearls.

There are two closely related Qajar acrobat portraits in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Accession numbers: 719-1876 and 720-1876), both attributed to the artist ‘Ahmad’ by Layla S. Diba. Please see the related entry in the exhibition catalogue, Royal Persian Paintings – The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925 Edited by Layla S. Diba and Maryam Ekhtiar, I. B. Tauris Publishers in Association with Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1998, New York, pp. 210-211, Nos. 60, 61.

The present portrait is almost identical to the second V&A portrait (Accession number: 720-1876, Dimensions: 151.5 x 80.4 cm.) which -according to the online museum entry- was “part of a group purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1876. At the time it was described as being ‘From the Shah’s palace at Tehran’. The painting may well have been removed from a palace erected by Fath ‘Ali Shah (r. 1797-1834). His residences were often decorated with series of oil paintings in this style. … Many of the series painted for Fath ‘Ali Shah show imaginary portraits of members of the royal harem.”. For the complete entry please see, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69980/femaletumbler-oil-painting-unknown/

Layla S. Diba has identified the origin of the V&A Qajar acrobat portraits as the Gulistan Palace, Tehran, “according to a letter dated October 1875 from Colonel R. Murdoch Smith, of the Telegraph Department, Tehran”. Please see, Ibid p. 210.

The lady’s costume embroidered with intertwined roses tell us a story. In Persian poetry, the rose symbolizes ‘the beloved’ whose love makes the nightingale, ‘the lover’, sing the most beautiful love songs. Please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk

Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, p. 94. The worldfamous 14th century Persian poet Hafez-i Shirazi, in the following lines, likens his beloved to a rose and himself to a nightingale: “I went to the garden one morning to pick a rose and suddenly heard a nightingale’s song. Like me, the poor bird had fallen in love with a rose and in the field, raised a commotion with his cries.”

The exquisite roses on our lady’s costume therefore allow us to identify her as the beloved, perhaps one of the favourites of the shah.

The painting also shows how ‘liberal’ and ‘modern’ 19th century Persian women were. In those days, the social and political atmosphere obviously allowed a Persian noble lady, in this case probably a member of the imperial harem, to be depicted in a painting as an acrobat-dancer. The painting belongs to a small group of full-length portraits associated with Fath ‘Ali Shah’s (r. 1797-1834) patronage, some of which are reported to have come from the Gulistan Palace in Tehran.

A comparable Qajar acrobat in the ‘Archives Cantonales du Tessin’ is published in the exhibition catalogue L’Empire des Roses: Chefs-d’œuvre de l’Art Persan du XIXe Siècle, Snoeck, Louvre Lens, Paris, 2018, no. 191, p. 181.

A similar portrait of a Qajar a female acrobat performing handstands was sold at Christie’s London. Please see, Christie’s - Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets 11 April 2000, Lot 111.

Provenance:

Ex-Private French Collection from Corbeil Essonne.

22 RARE OTTOMAN ENAMELLED ROSE-WATER SPRINKLER DECORATED WITH SPRING FLOWERS

Ottoman Empire

18th-19th Century

Height: 12cm.

Of bulbous form of low footring with screw-fitted narrow cylindrical neck, decorated with polychrome enamels depicting spring flowers between foliate gilt bands.

Enamelled objects such as bowls, covered dishes, rosewater sprinklers, mastic-holders were increasingly fashionable among the Ottoman elite. Especially during the 18th and 19th centuries, these objects played an important role in the daily lives of the members of the Ottoman upper classes both with their practical uses and decorative values. This is a rare, miniature rosewater sprinkler, probably produced for a lady.

The spring flowers decorating the present piece have an important place in the Ottoman decoratif repertoire. In the Ottoman period flowers were a constant part of daily life, grown in gardens everywhere, from palaces to humble homes. Flowers were blessed reminders of the gardens of heaven. Foreign travellers and ambassadors who visited the empire frequently remarked about this love of flowers. The 17th century Ottoman writer and traveller Evliya Çelebi describes how vases of roses, tulips, hyacinths, narcissi and lilies were placed between the rows of worshippers in the Eski Mosque and the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in Edirne, and how their scent filled the prayer halls. As depicted in the present rosewater sprinkler, vases of flowers adorned niches in the walls, dining trays and rows of vases were placed around rooms and pools. For further information please see, (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, pp. 86-90.

Provenance:

Ex-Argine Benaki Salvago Collection.

Argine Benaki Salvago (1883-1972)

Argine Benaki Salvago was one of the leading social and cultural figures of Alexandria in the 1930s. Thanks to its position as the main trading port in the southern Mediterranean, in those years Alexandria was a cosmopolitan hub. The expansion of commercial traffic through the ancient port in the late Ottoman period offered an opportunity for entrepreneurial Greek families in the city, such as the Benakis, Choremis and Salvagos, to thrive economically. Argine’s parents, Emmanuel

Benaki and Virginia Choremi, were both leading cotton producers, whose marriage sealed their business alliance, transforming them into the primary exporters of high-quality Egyptian cotton. Her husband, Michael Salvago, also a cotton baron, came from a family whose many notable achievements included the setting up of the National Bank of Egypt in 1898. Against this backdrop of private wealth, urbane cosmopolitanism and international sophistication, it is no surprise that prestigious collections of art were formed at this time.

In 1927, Argine’s brother Antony left Alexandria for Athens, where four years later the lion’s share of his collection, as well as the family’s home in Athens, was donated to the Greek state with the foundation of the Benaki Museum. The legacy of this great collecting dynasty was therefore preserved in a public institution to be enjoyed and appreciated by the general public.

Argine also went on to donate her extensive collection of Persian antique jewellery, which can be viewed today in the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art.

Ottoman Empire or possibly Qajar Empire

Signed Ahmad,

Dated 1261 A.H. 1844 C.E.

Length: 42.2 cm.

Width: 4.5 cm.

Fine Enamelled Dagger And Scabbard Decorated With Spring Flowers

Dagger with curved steel blade, and scabbard. Hilt with red cabochon tourmalaine finial, hilt and scabbard decorated with polychrome enamel decoration, with spring blossoms, and green leaves with gilt copper borders.

Enamelled hilts and scabbards of this type have been produced throughout the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries across the Middle East. Similarly decorated enamelled daggers have been catalogued both as from the Ottoman and the Qajar empires. A similar example, catalogued as Qajar, is in the British Museum. Please the link, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/ object/W_1878-1230-903

On the other hand, a closely related enamelled dagger and scabbard (Accession No. JLY 1748), also signed ‘Ahmad’, dated 1231 A.H. (1815 C.E.), in the D. Nasser Khalili Collection, London, is catalogued as Ottoman. Please see, David Alexander, The Arts of War – Arms and Armour of the 7th to 19th Centuries The Nour Foundation, Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press, London, 1992, no. 87, pp. 146-147.

The artist’s signature ‘Ahmad’ on the Khalili dagger is identical with the signature on the present dagger. Our dagger, therefore, appears to have been produced by the same artist who produced the Khalili dagger.

Spring flowers and blossoms, decorating the present piece, are much favoured motifs widely used in Ottoman art. In Ottoman culture, flowers were a constant part of daily life, grown in gardens everywhere, from palaces to humble homes. Flowers were blessed reminders of the gardens of heaven. Foreign travellers and ambassadors who visited the Ottoman Empire frequently remarked about this love of flowers. For further information please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, pp. 86-90.

A comparable Ottoman incense-burner, very similarly decorated with enamel, was sold at Christie’s, London. Please see, Christie’s - Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 26 October 2017, Lot 207.

Provenance: Ex-Private South Carolina Collection

24 EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT OTTOMAN SILVER-GILT MOSQUE OR THRONE ORNAMENT

Ottoman Empire 17th-18th Century

Heigth: (The Ornament)

16.8 cm.

Heigth: (The Ornament with the Tassel) 59 cm.

The eight-ribbed cantaloupe-melon-form ornament, set with peridots and carnelians, mostly cabochon in the contours, at the base a large rock crystal bead emanating a thread tassel.

Peridots, decorating the present hanging ornament, were mined n Egypt (on the island of Zabarjad in the Red Sea) throughout the Ottoman period and the treasury of the Topkapı Palace still contains large numbers of polished but unset peridots. Carnelians, much favoured in Islamic jewellery, were mostly mined in India.

Hanging ornaments, similar to the present one, decorated with precious and semi-precious stones -such as peridots and carnelians- were used for decorating mosque interiors and as throne-ornaments. The historians relate that from the earliest centuries of Islam it was the custom of rulers to send valuable ornaments to be hung at the Ka’bah in Mecca and in the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina. Traditionally hanging ornaments were suspended from the dome in mosques because the dome symbolized the sky, and the hanging ornaments, sparkling with peridots and carnelians, symbolized the stars. In this symbolism, there is a direct reference to the Qur’an [24:35]: “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light may be likened to a niche wherein is a lamp, and the lamp is in the crystal which shines in starlike brilliance.”

As a characteristic feature in these hanging ornaments, a rock crystal bead emanating a thread tassel, as in the present piece, is a direct reminder of the words of this Qur’anic verse [24:35]: “… in the crystal which shines in star-like brilliance”

Comparable hanging ornaments in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, are published in Nazan Ölçer et al, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Akbank, Istanbul, 2002, pp. 298, 299. According to the museum’s register, two of these ornaments, similar to the present piece in form and decoration, were brought to the museum from the Laleli Mosque n Istanbul. Please see, ibid, 2002, p. 298.

Two imperial Ottoman hanging ornaments, made for the Mosque of Prophet Muhammad (Masjid al-Nabavi) in Medina, have survived. The first, decorated with a large emerald, commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Mustafa III (r. 1757-1774), is in the Topkapı Palace Museum (inv. no. 2/7618). Please see the exhibition catalogue, Topkapı Palace: The Imperial Treasury, MAS, Istanbul, 2001, p. 46. The second one, decorated with three emeralds, also made for the Mosque of Prophet Muhammad (Masjid al-Nabavi) in Medina, commissioned by Sultan Abdulhamid (r. 1774-1789), is in the Topkapı Palace Museum (inv. no. 2/7617). Please see ibid 2001, p. 52.

Hanging ornaments continued to be produced in various forms. Some comparable examples were used for decorating thrones. There are certain similarities in decoration which indicate a relation between hanging ornaments and thrones. For example, sharing a very similar aesthetic with the present ornament, some of the imperial Ottoman thrones in Topkapı Palace Museum are richly decorated with peridots. The best-known example is the magnificent bayram tahtı (the ‘Festival Throne’, the Topkapı Palace Museum, Inv. No. 2/2825) on which the sultan was accustomed to receive dignitaries of the empire on the great feasts of the Muslim year. Set with 954 peridots, the festival throne was the principal symbol of power and sovereignty among the Ottomans. Please see, Ibid 2001, p. 51.

Hanging ornament in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, (Inv no. 188), brought to the museum from the Laleli Mosque in Istanbul, After Nazan Ölçer et al, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Akbank, Istanbul, 2002, p. 298.

Hanging ornaments above Sultan Ahmed III’s (r. 1703-1730) throne. After the exhibition catalogue, Lale Devrinin bir Görgü Tanığı Jean-Baptiste Vanmour texts written by Eveline Sint Nicolaes et al, Koçbank, Istanbul, 2003, p. 195.

A painting by Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, depicting the meeting of Sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703-1730) and the Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen, in the ‘Room of Petitions’ Arz Odası) in the Topkapı Palace, provides visual documentation. In this painting, there are six hanging ornaments, comparable with the present one, hanging above Ahmed III’s throne. Please see the exhibition catalogue, Lale Devrinin bir Görgü Tanığı Jean-Baptiste Vanmour texts written by Eveline Sint Nicolaes et al Koçbank, Istanbul, 2003, p. 195.

A very similar Ottoman silver-gilt mosque or throne ornament, set with peridots, was sold at Sotheby’s, for £600,000. Please see, Sotheby’s – Arts of the Islamic World including Fine Carpets and Textiles, 14 April 2010, Lot. 282.

The present Ottoman hanging ornament is a truly rare survival and an exceptionally rare example of this type.

Provenance: Important Private European Collection

India

Height: 5 cm.

Width 6 cm.

Jade dated 1051 A.H. / 1641

C.E. Produced during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1658)

The Gold Frame with Set-Jewels: 19th Century

A MAGNIFICENT MUGHAL JADE PENDANT ( HALDILI ) WITH THE THRONE VERSE ( AYAT AL-KURSI ) FROM THE QUR’AN

Of oval form with suspension loop to the upper edge, in openwork gold mount, the front engraved with an extremely fine, imperial quality nasta'liq inscription, the back inlaid with diamonds, emeralds and rubies in kundan setting forming a floral spray enclosed within a border of square panels, alternate squares set with rubies. The gold frame and gem-set decoration on the back was executed in the 19th Century.

The pendeant has the Throne Verse (Ayat al-Kursi) from the Qur'an (2:255) on the front.

The Arabic Text

The Translation:

“Allah! There is no deity but Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. Unto Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who could intercede in His presence without His permission? He knows that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne includes the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.”

The fine nasta'liq calligraphy of the present plaque owes a debt to the Persian tradition which played an important role in the genesis of Mughal art. Despite the technical challenges of carving text into a hardstone, the calligraphy is absolutely masterful, even when studied under close magnification. The strength and precision of the execution, as well as the use of high-quality white jade, points towards royal patronage at a time when Shah Jahan was at the head of the Mughal Empire.

A comparable Mughal jade pendant with the Throne Verse, dated 1006 A.H. / 1597 A.D., was sold at Christie’s London, in 10 April 2014, for £290,500.

The Mughal Emperors and members of the palace circle inherited the Timurid rulers’ love of jade, and quickly developed their own jade carving craft on the foundations of the hardstone sculpting artistic tradition already firmly established in India. The early

Mughal jade carvings were relatively plain but the fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his son, the fifth Emperor Shah Jahan, under whom the present piece was produced, were great patrons of jade carving. For further information please see, Teng Shu-ping et al, Treasures from Across the Kunlun Mountains: Islamic Jades in the National Palace Museum Collection National Palace Museum Taiwan, Taipei, 2008, p. 85. A jade plaque similarly decorated with a gem-set motif is published in U.R. Balakrishnan & M. Sushil Kumar, Dance of the Peacock: Jewellery Traditions in India Bombay, 2001, p.255, no.414.

The set-jewels on the reverse of this jade pendant depict spring flowers in a vase. ‘Flowers in a vase’ is an important motif widely used in Islamic and Indian art. In Indian culture, flowers were a constant part of daily life, grown in gardens everywhere, from palaces to humble homes. Flowers were blessed reminders of the gardens of heaven. Foreign travellers and ambassadors who visited the Mughal Empire frequently remarked about this love of flowers. For further information about ‘Flowers in baskets or vases’ motifs please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, pp. 110-111.

For pendants with the Throne Verse in the British Museum, please see Venetia Porter, Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum The British Museum, London, 2011, pp. 164-165.

This magnificent pendant, dated AH 1051 / AD 1641-42, is an extremely rare jade of imperial quality, produced during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1627-1658).

Provenance:

Ex-Private English Collection, London

Ottoman Empire

Produced during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1908)

Dimensions: 5.2 x 5.6 cm.

RUBY, EMERALD AND DIAMOND BROOCH WITH THE OTTOMAN IMPERIAL COAT OF ARMS

Depicting the coat of arms of the Ottoman Empire, with the tughra of Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1909) engraved on a gold plaque, composed of various armorial motifs, set throughout with original brilliant and rose-cut diamonds, circular-cut emerald and rubies, each with a rose-cut diamond crescent and star, the garland of laurel leaves accented by a cushion-shaped diamond, the whole suspending a series of enamel and rose-cut diamond drops, representing medals/orders of the empire, mounted in silver and gold.

Ottoman sultans had their own royal monogram or tughra, but only in the second half of the 19th century was an imperial coat of arms produced. The Ottoman coat of arms is composed of motifs that symbolise the power of the state and was therefore a way of conveying prestige. The tughra and turban represent the sultan, weapons the army, the sun, moon and star state power.

The Ottoman imperial coat of arms took shape over a considerable period. One of the earliest examples is the imperial seal commissioned by Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) from an English engraver through the mediation of the British ambassador in Istanbul. Its new design consisting of a tughra, two books on top of one another, a cornucopia, flag, halberd, European style sword, bayonetted rifle, cannon ball and scales was introduced under the reign of Abdülmecid (r. 1839-1861). Later, scales and some weapons were added and it was accepted as the official imperial coat of arms of the Ottoman dynasty in 17 April 1882, under Sultan Abdulhamid II. For further information please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, p. 58, 59.

A similar ruby, emerald and diamond-set brooch with the Ottoman imperial coat of arms is published in Kent Antiques –Works of Art from the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Orientalist, Modern and Contemporary Paintings 2019-2020 London, 2020, no. 14.

Provenance: Ex-Private French Collection

Ottoman Empire

Dated: 1319 AH /

1901-02 AD

Length: 35 cm.

Slightly curved double-edged watered steel blade, horn hilt with silver mounts featuring niello decoration and medallions containing tughra of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the scabbard with silver mounts and nielloed floral decoration. The niello decoration is precise and well-preserved.

All Ottoman sultans -beginning with Orhan Bey (r. 1323-1362)had their own imperial monogram or tughra which reads their titles, name and their father’s name followed by the phrase al-muzaffar daiman (the always victorious). The present dagger is decorated with three tughras symbolizing and underlining the might and prestige of the Ottoman Empire.

The niello background on the scabbard is decorated with spring flowers. In the Ottoman period flowers were a constant part of daily life, grown in gardens everywhere, from palaces to humble homes. Flowers were blessed reminders of the gardens of heaven. Foreign travellers and ambassadors who visited the empire frequently remarked about this love of flowers. The 17th century Ottoman writer and traveller Evliya Çelebi describes how vases of roses, tulips, hyacinths, narcissi and lilies were placed between the rows of worshippers in the Eski Mosque and the Üç Şerefeli Mosque in Edirne, and how their scent filled the prayer halls. As depicted in the present dagger, vases of flowers adorned niches in the walls, dining trays and rows of vases were placed around rooms and pools. For further information please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, pp. 86-90.

Niello is a mixture of sulphur, copper, silver and lead; used as an inlay on engraved and etched metalwork, particularly on silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at east softens, and then it flows or is pushed into the engaved motifs in the metal. It is an ancient metalworking technique which streches back to late bronze age Syria. It was much loved and widely used in Roman, Byzantine, Medieval European, Russian and Islamic art

Provenance:

Ex-Private UK Collection

Egypt

Second Half of the 13th Century

Height: 18,5 cm.

MAMLUK SILVER-INLAID BRASS CANDLESTICK

Inscriptions on the shoulder and neck: مئادلا زع [al-‘izz al-daim…] (perpetual glory…).

The base of truncated conical form, the projecting shoulder leading to a concave drip-tray, the narrow tapering cylindrical neck ending with a conical socket, the body decorated with a figural frieze of musicians and three roundels with horse riders and a figure riding an elephant, the drip-tray and neck with bands of calligraphy.

This candlestick belongs to an important group of early Mamluk cast brass examples produced in Cairo within the first century of Mamluk rule. One of their distinctive features is a domical openwork bracket inside the base, also visible on our candlestick. Please see, Toby Falk, Treasures of Islam London, 1985, p. 277, no. 286.

In a discussion of these candlesticks, Dr. Rachel Ward establishes their provenance based on the inscription of an example in the Cairo Museum of Islamic Art (inv. no.1657), [published in the 1981 exhibition catalogue Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks (Texts by Esin Atil) Washington, pp. 57-58] dated in 1269 AD, attributing it to a Cairene workshop. The present candlestick is closely related to a piece in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection (please see, James Allan, Islamic Metalwork: the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, 1982, pp. 80-83, no. 13), which was also ascribed to a Cairene workshop circa 1270. This makes these objects some of the earliest known pieces of Mamluk metalwork from Cairo.

Their design inherited from the figural tradition of earlier thirteenth century Ayyubid metalworks. Similar roundels with a cheetah sitting behind a mounted rider can be found on the Nuhad Es-Said candlestick, and on a thirteenth-century example from Syria (please see, E. Baer, Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art New York, 1983, p. 233), while a roundel showing three figures riding an elephant is on a basin in the Victoria & Albert Museum, dated 1250-1350 (inv. no. 2734-1856). Its catalogue entry states that figural scenes on Mamluk metalwork were common until 1300, after which they were replaced by benedictory inscriptions.

The tradition of depicting people and animals has always been alive in regions where the Muslim faith spread. The tradition of depicting people and animals has deep roots in Seljuk, Ayyubid and early Mamluk art. Especially in Seljuk art cosmological and mythological human and animal figures come to the fore. But in general, figures were not just used for a decorative purpose but also to convey religious, cultural and political messages. The most frequent themes are a ruler seated on a throne as a symbol of sovereignty; battle scenes, scenes of palace life showing activities such as shooting with a bow and arrow on horseback, hunting with hawks, playing polo, figures of musicians, dancers, servants offering wine in a cup which represent palace entertainments. For further information please see, Motif from the Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection (written by Turgut Saner, Şebnem Eryavuz and Hülya Bilgi), Sadberk Hanım Museum, Istanbul, 2020, pp. 146-147.

This candlestick’s decoration is also characteristic of a style attributed to the ‘Mosul School’. In the Cairo Museum of Islamic Art, the aforementioned candlestick (inv. no.1657) and another comparable piece with a band of musicians, dated 1269-70 (Please see, Jonathan Bloom & Sheila Blair, The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800 London, 1995, pp. 97-98, no. 126) both bear an 'Al-Mawsilī' (from Mosul) nisba Based on the conjecture attaching all Mawsili artists to the same Cairene studio, these candlesticks thus provide a rare opportunity to study the stylistic and technical development of a single workshop between about 1269 and 1330, while documenting the transitional period of early Mamluk metalwork. For other published examples, see the appendix in Dr. Rachel Ward’s article “Tradition and Innovation: Candlesticks made in Mamluk Cairo” in Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, vol: 10, Part II, edited by J. W. Allan, 1995, pp. 147-158.

Provenance: Ex-Private French Collection

Safavid Empire

Mid 17th Century

Diameter: 32 cm.

Height: 15.4 cm.