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Lot Essay
This group offers a rare and fascinating variety of belt fittings and mounts, both in terms of style and form. Each piece was designed by combining a geometric shape with foliate details. The interlaced knot and quatrefoil design present in this group are characteristic of Nasrid and later-Nasrid works and are recognisable features of the period. Surviving paintings from the period such as the 14th-century ceiling depicting the first ten Nasrid sultans at the Hall of Kings, Alhambra, Granada depicts some sultans adorned with fittings similar to ours (see Michael Jacobs, Alhambra, London, 2000, p.24).
Further comparable examples are in the Furusiyya Art Foundation (see Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight: The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, Milan, 2007, pp.123-127, nos.99-114). Another set, with a combination of filigree and polychrome enamel, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no.17.190.962a-j. The Khalili collection also houses several similar individual fittings which are close to many in our group, see Michael Spink, The Art of Adornment, Volume II, Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection London, 2012, 480-507. A magnificent example sold at Sotheby’s, London, 9 April 2008, lot 190.
Further comparable examples are in the Furusiyya Art Foundation (see Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight: The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, Milan, 2007, pp.123-127, nos.99-114). Another set, with a combination of filigree and polychrome enamel, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no.17.190.962a-j. The Khalili collection also houses several similar individual fittings which are close to many in our group, see Michael Spink, The Art of Adornment, Volume II, Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection London, 2012, 480-507. A magnificent example sold at Sotheby’s, London, 9 April 2008, lot 190.