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Lot Essay
The inscriptions are an Arab benedictory quatrain which translates:
'You have reached the highest position in ranks
And grace of God has joined you from all sides
May you not cease to be desired, and to stretch
Your right hand in the World in order to obtain your wishes'
Mamluk tinned copper bowls are traditionally dated to the 15th century, and very frequently the latter part thereof. This has been explained at least partly as a result of the scarcity of precious metals in the Islamic world in the 15th century. There are many features however which indicate that the present bowl is contemporaneous with many outstanding examples in silver-inlaid brass. The shape is a pure 14th century Mamluk shape, found in numerous instances in brass, and the calligraphy considerably more refined than that found on most 15th century basins (see lots 25 and 28 in this sale for example). The early suggested dating of the present basin is supported by two clearly dateable vessels in the Islamic Museum in Cairo. A bowl in the name of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad is dateable to before 1341, while a tray is in the name of the emir Ylmalak (or Almalik) who died in 1345 (Gaston Wiet, Catalogue général du musée arabe du Caire, objets en cuivre, Cairo, 1932, no.3937, pp.96-98, pl.XLII, and no.3757, pp.90-94, pl.XLIX). The calligraphy and the decoration within the floral roundels is particularly close in the present example to the Almalik dish.
'You have reached the highest position in ranks
And grace of God has joined you from all sides
May you not cease to be desired, and to stretch
Your right hand in the World in order to obtain your wishes'
Mamluk tinned copper bowls are traditionally dated to the 15th century, and very frequently the latter part thereof. This has been explained at least partly as a result of the scarcity of precious metals in the Islamic world in the 15th century. There are many features however which indicate that the present bowl is contemporaneous with many outstanding examples in silver-inlaid brass. The shape is a pure 14th century Mamluk shape, found in numerous instances in brass, and the calligraphy considerably more refined than that found on most 15th century basins (see lots 25 and 28 in this sale for example). The early suggested dating of the present basin is supported by two clearly dateable vessels in the Islamic Museum in Cairo. A bowl in the name of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad is dateable to before 1341, while a tray is in the name of the emir Ylmalak (or Almalik) who died in 1345 (Gaston Wiet, Catalogue général du musée arabe du Caire, objets en cuivre, Cairo, 1932, no.3937, pp.96-98, pl.XLII, and no.3757, pp.90-94, pl.XLIX). The calligraphy and the decoration within the floral roundels is particularly close in the present example to the Almalik dish.