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Lot Essay
The inscriptions are as follows:
Round the mouth: al-'izz al-dawla al-iqba l al-'a fiya (?) al-a (Glory, Wealth, Health)
Round the neck: al-'izz al-da'im al-iqbal al-shamil al-amr a[l-nafidh (Perpetual Glory, Perfect Prosperity, Penetrating Command)
Round the shoulder: Undeciphered
Round the body, in the upper band, a Persian quatrain:
ey chun hamal o thawr cho jawja ze neshan (?)
qaddat saratan rokh cho asad sunboleh ran
mizan sefat o 'aqrab mu abru qaws
ta jady o dalv o hut manad to be-man
(O you whose sign (?) is like Aries, Taurus, and Gemini
Your figure is like Cancer, your face like Leo and your thighs like Virgo
[Your] quality like Libra, the hair like Scorpio and eyebrows like Sagittarius
May you remain as long as Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces remain)
In the lower band, partly visible:
ey sham' be-geryeh chand bar khun-e jegar koja mandi
farqast miyan-e suz gar jan-e khod ba bar khwandi ..
(O candle! how much will you cry on your affliction, where will you remain ?
There is a difference between burning, if your soul ...)
Round the base: Undeciphered
The group of candlesticks attributable to Anatolia is discussed by Souren Melikian with regard to the five examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum (A.S.Melikian Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork of the Iranian World, 8th-18th Century, London, 1982, pp.356-368). Four further examples are in Italian Collections (Giovanni Curatola, Eredità dell'Islam, exhibition catalogue, Venice, 1994, nos.129-131, pp.242-244).
Round the mouth: al-'izz al-dawla al-iqba l al-'a fiya (?) al-a (Glory, Wealth, Health)
Round the neck: al-'izz al-da'im al-iqbal al-shamil al-amr a[l-nafidh (Perpetual Glory, Perfect Prosperity, Penetrating Command)
Round the shoulder: Undeciphered
Round the body, in the upper band, a Persian quatrain:
ey chun hamal o thawr cho jawja ze neshan (?)
qaddat saratan rokh cho asad sunboleh ran
mizan sefat o 'aqrab mu abru qaws
ta jady o dalv o hut manad to be-man
(O you whose sign (?) is like Aries, Taurus, and Gemini
Your figure is like Cancer, your face like Leo and your thighs like Virgo
[Your] quality like Libra, the hair like Scorpio and eyebrows like Sagittarius
May you remain as long as Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces remain)
In the lower band, partly visible:
ey sham' be-geryeh chand bar khun-e jegar koja mandi
farqast miyan-e suz gar jan-e khod ba bar khwandi ..
(O candle! how much will you cry on your affliction, where will you remain ?
There is a difference between burning, if your soul ...)
Round the base: Undeciphered
The group of candlesticks attributable to Anatolia is discussed by Souren Melikian with regard to the five examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum (A.S.Melikian Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork of the Iranian World, 8th-18th Century, London, 1982, pp.356-368). Four further examples are in Italian Collections (Giovanni Curatola, Eredità dell'Islam, exhibition catalogue, Venice, 1994, nos.129-131, pp.242-244).