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Lot Essay
The main inscription reads 'izz li-mawlana al-sultan al-malik al-nasir al-'alim al-'amil al-'adil al-'arif al-mujahid al-murabit al-muthaghir al-mu'ayyad Shihab al-Dunya wa al-Din Ahmad bin al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad (Glory to our Lord the Sultan, the King, the Victorious, the Wise, the Diligent, the Just, the Learned, Warrior of the Faith, Defender, Guardian of the Frontiers, Strengthened by God, Shihab al-Dunya wa al-Din Ahmad son of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad).
Three of the blazons are inscribed 'al-Sultan al-Malik Ahmad'. The fourth blazon, originally identical, has been re-engraved with a waqf (endowment) in favour of the tomb of Shaykh Ahmad bin 'Alwan bin Muhammad al-Buni.
Al-Malik al-Nasir Ahmad, fourth of the nine sons of Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, ruled only for a few months during the year 1342. Apart from the present piece, three other published brasses bear dedicatory inscriptions to him:
1. An engraved brass tapering hexagonal hanging lamp in the Islamic Museum, Cairo (G. Wiet, Catalogue Général du Musée Arabe du Caire, Objets en cuivre, Cairo, 1932, pl.IX and pp.46-47, and Répertoire chronologique d'épigraphie arabe, Vol 15, Cairo, no.5960).
2. A silver and gold inlaid brass jug from the Harari Collection, now in the Islamic Museum, Cairo, (Wiet, op.cit., p.47 and app. no.209; Rice, D.S., Studies in Islamic Metalwork - IV, Bulletin of the Schools of Oriental and African Studies, XV, 1956, p.496f and pls.IV and V; RCIA no.5961; Exhibition of Islamic Art in Egypt, Cairo, 1969, no. 68, p.78 and pl.13).
3. A brass plate stand originally with silver and gold inlay and formerly in the Prince Youssef Kamal Collection (Wiet, op.cit., p.47, pl.LXXIV).
Three of the blazons are inscribed 'al-Sultan al-Malik Ahmad'. The fourth blazon, originally identical, has been re-engraved with a waqf (endowment) in favour of the tomb of Shaykh Ahmad bin 'Alwan bin Muhammad al-Buni.
Al-Malik al-Nasir Ahmad, fourth of the nine sons of Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, ruled only for a few months during the year 1342. Apart from the present piece, three other published brasses bear dedicatory inscriptions to him:
1. An engraved brass tapering hexagonal hanging lamp in the Islamic Museum, Cairo (G. Wiet, Catalogue Général du Musée Arabe du Caire, Objets en cuivre, Cairo, 1932, pl.IX and pp.46-47, and Répertoire chronologique d'épigraphie arabe, Vol 15, Cairo, no.5960).
2. A silver and gold inlaid brass jug from the Harari Collection, now in the Islamic Museum, Cairo, (Wiet, op.cit., p.47 and app. no.209; Rice, D.S., Studies in Islamic Metalwork - IV, Bulletin of the Schools of Oriental and African Studies, XV, 1956, p.496f and pls.IV and V; RCIA no.5961; Exhibition of Islamic Art in Egypt, Cairo, 1969, no. 68, p.78 and pl.13).
3. A brass plate stand originally with silver and gold inlay and formerly in the Prince Youssef Kamal Collection (Wiet, op.cit., p.47, pl.LXXIV).