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Lot Essay
Isma'il Pasha (1830-95), viceroy (1863-67) then Khedive of Egypt (1867-79) sought independence from the Ottoman court and the modernisation of his country by closer relations with European powers. He established the primogeniture in his own line via a firman purchased from the Ottoman Sultan in 1866. His lasting achievement was to open the Suez canal in 1869.
Egypt under Isma'il Pasha cultivated closer relations with France, participating in the Paris exhibition of 1867. His ambitious development plans for the country led to hugely increased exports and to significant modernisation of the country such as the outlawing of the slave trade in his dominions and the establishment of the state postal service. Unfortunately, his infrastructure building programmes brought desperate financial problems which ultimately led to his deposition in 1875. He ended his days in Istanbul.
The tray was later engraved with the initial K by one of his heirs, Kheryaii.
Egypt under Isma'il Pasha cultivated closer relations with France, participating in the Paris exhibition of 1867. His ambitious development plans for the country led to hugely increased exports and to significant modernisation of the country such as the outlawing of the slave trade in his dominions and the establishment of the state postal service. Unfortunately, his infrastructure building programmes brought desperate financial problems which ultimately led to his deposition in 1875. He ended his days in Istanbul.
The tray was later engraved with the initial K by one of his heirs, Kheryaii.