Lot Essay
A very similar candlestick is in the Keir Collection (Fehérvári, G.: Islamic Metalwork of the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century in the Keir Collection, London 1976, no. 100, p.85 and pl.34a). That example is however made of bronze and has a pierced neck and mouth. It is dated to the 12th-13th centuries. While the material of the present example differs, the overall shape and in particular the pierced decoration of the body are very similar. The secondary decoration on our example with its engraved elongated arabesques on a cross-hatched ground is not possible in the mediaeval period. This feature, coupled with the material used, are typical of Persian metalwork of the 15th century.