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Lot Essay
The inscription on the inside within the two cartouches reads:
al-'izz w'al-nasr wa'l-baqa , l'il-majid al-tayyib, al-thana (glory, victory and long life , to the majestic, the good; praise).
The exterior inscription is similar, reading:
al-'izz w'al-nasr w'al-baqa l'il-ma-,-jid al-tayyib al-thana w'al-jadd w'al-m ,-l-majd w'al-ma'ali ...... (Glory and victory and long life to the majestic, the good; praise and majesty and greatness).
While the form of this inscription is typical for Mamluk inscriptions, the actual words used, and in particular the emphasis on the word majesty, are more appropriate for a Christian patron. Similarly, while musicians are known on a number of other vessels, it is notable that all the figures in roundels are wearing crowns. The same crowned figure also appears combined together with musicians in the smaller bowl signed by Ibn al-Zayn in the Louvre (Atil, Esin: Renaissance of Islam, Art of the Mamluks, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., 1981, no.20, pp.74-75). The clear relation between the two could indicate that the crowned figure in the Louvre bowl also shows a christian king; this would be compatible with the accurate depiction of different racial types in the work of this artist.
The shield in the centre of the roundel depicts a lion on a barruly field, the arms employed by the Lusignan Kings of Cyprus (Hill, George Francis: A History of Cyprus, Cambridge, 1948). The use of a lion as an emblem of Cyprus can be traced back to the reign of Hugh III (1269-1284). Having become nominally kings of Jerusalem, the arms are then found quartered with the cross of Jerusalem. This quartered bearing is found on brass vessels commissioned for Hugh IV (1324-59). The same arms belonging to his successor Peter I (1359-69) are seen on the Palazzo Cornaro in Venice where he once lodged (Geruola: Lo Stemma Di Cipro, Atti Reg. 1st Veneto LXXXI, Venice, 1922-3).
The coins of Peter I also clearly demonstrate that the unquartered arms remained in use. From the beginning of his reign, the obverse of his coins shows him seated holding a shield with the single lion as on the present dish, while the cross of Jerusalem forms the reverse (Metcalf, D.M.: The silver coinage of Cyprus, 1285-1382, Nicosia, 1996, pl.32, pp.246-7). From the approximate dating of the early 14th century indicated by the stylistic evidence, this dish was probably made for one of the two younger brothers of king Henry II, who reigned from 1285-1324 (Runciman, Steven: A History of the Crusades, Vol.3 The Kingdom of Acre, Cambridge, 1954). The elder of the two was Amalric/Aimerey who was Lord of Tyre and Constable of the kingdom, and who married Isabella of the Armenian royal family. The younger was Guy de Lusignan, prince of Cyprus, Lord of Beirut, who married Eschiva of Ibelin and was the father of King Hugh IV. Unfortunately it is not possible to say for which of these two the dish was made.
Various other examples are known of Muslim craftsmen being commissioned by the Christian rulers and nobles of Outremer. There are two vessels, a basin and a bowl, both in the Louvre Museum, made for Hugh IV of Lusignan (1324-1359), King of Cyprus (Europa und der Orient, exhibition catalogue, Berlin, 1989, no5, pp.594-5, pls.234 and 235). Other examples are noted in the same catalogue.
al-'izz w'al-nasr wa'l-baqa , l'il-majid al-tayyib, al-thana (glory, victory and long life , to the majestic, the good; praise).
The exterior inscription is similar, reading:
al-'izz w'al-nasr w'al-baqa l'il-ma-,-jid al-tayyib al-thana w'al-jadd w'al-m ,-l-majd w'al-ma'ali ...... (Glory and victory and long life to the majestic, the good; praise and majesty and greatness).
While the form of this inscription is typical for Mamluk inscriptions, the actual words used, and in particular the emphasis on the word majesty, are more appropriate for a Christian patron. Similarly, while musicians are known on a number of other vessels, it is notable that all the figures in roundels are wearing crowns. The same crowned figure also appears combined together with musicians in the smaller bowl signed by Ibn al-Zayn in the Louvre (Atil, Esin: Renaissance of Islam, Art of the Mamluks, exhibition catalogue, Washington D.C., 1981, no.20, pp.74-75). The clear relation between the two could indicate that the crowned figure in the Louvre bowl also shows a christian king; this would be compatible with the accurate depiction of different racial types in the work of this artist.
The shield in the centre of the roundel depicts a lion on a barruly field, the arms employed by the Lusignan Kings of Cyprus (Hill, George Francis: A History of Cyprus, Cambridge, 1948). The use of a lion as an emblem of Cyprus can be traced back to the reign of Hugh III (1269-1284). Having become nominally kings of Jerusalem, the arms are then found quartered with the cross of Jerusalem. This quartered bearing is found on brass vessels commissioned for Hugh IV (1324-59). The same arms belonging to his successor Peter I (1359-69) are seen on the Palazzo Cornaro in Venice where he once lodged (Geruola: Lo Stemma Di Cipro, Atti Reg. 1st Veneto LXXXI, Venice, 1922-3).
The coins of Peter I also clearly demonstrate that the unquartered arms remained in use. From the beginning of his reign, the obverse of his coins shows him seated holding a shield with the single lion as on the present dish, while the cross of Jerusalem forms the reverse (Metcalf, D.M.: The silver coinage of Cyprus, 1285-1382, Nicosia, 1996, pl.32, pp.246-7). From the approximate dating of the early 14th century indicated by the stylistic evidence, this dish was probably made for one of the two younger brothers of king Henry II, who reigned from 1285-1324 (Runciman, Steven: A History of the Crusades, Vol.3 The Kingdom of Acre, Cambridge, 1954). The elder of the two was Amalric/Aimerey who was Lord of Tyre and Constable of the kingdom, and who married Isabella of the Armenian royal family. The younger was Guy de Lusignan, prince of Cyprus, Lord of Beirut, who married Eschiva of Ibelin and was the father of King Hugh IV. Unfortunately it is not possible to say for which of these two the dish was made.
Various other examples are known of Muslim craftsmen being commissioned by the Christian rulers and nobles of Outremer. There are two vessels, a basin and a bowl, both in the Louvre Museum, made for Hugh IV of Lusignan (1324-1359), King of Cyprus (Europa und der Orient, exhibition catalogue, Berlin, 1989, no5, pp.594-5, pls.234 and 235). Other examples are noted in the same catalogue.