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Lot Essay
This nisba Abu-Bakri that is given at the end of the patron’s name on this tray indicates that it is a rare survival from the short sultanate of Al-Malik al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Abu Bakr, who was only in power for two months, from June to August 1341. The son of al-Nasir Muhammad and his concubine Narjis, he was groomed by his father as a potential successor and on his father’s death was the first of several of his sons to take power. The real power in Abu Bakr’s short reign, however, was held by Qawsun, a mamluk and senior emir of al-Nasir Muhammad who ultimately had Abu Bakr executed.
The name of the patron of our tray is given as Al-Saifi Baktamur al-Abu Bakri. Gaston Wiet records two mentions of a Baktamur in his Objets en cuivre, catalogue général du musée arabe du Caire (Cairo, 1937). One is on a candlestick which, like our tray, bears the cup-bearer’s blazon. There the patron is referred to as Saif al-Din Baktamur Saqi (the cup-bearer) (Wiet, 1937, p.196, under no.154). That Baktamur, whose son Shihab al-Din was a great favourite of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, died in 1333 so cannot be the present patron. The other mention of an amir by the name of Baktamur comes on a foundation stone at Khan al-Ahmar dating from AH 708/1308-09 AD that is in the name of the amir Salar bin 'Abdullah (Wiet, 1937, p.93). He is described as being na'ib of Salar for the province of Syria, Salar himself being viceroy for the entire Mamluk kingdom under al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad. Whilst not impossible, it is highly unlikely that this Baktamur is the patron of our tray since he was already in a position of responsibility in 1308 and our tray must have been made in 1341. A third possibility is given by a Baktamur al-Husami who is mentioned as the father of Jamal al-Din Ibrahim, the patron of a candlestick which is dateable to the middle of the 14th century and is now in the Benaki Museum (Wiet, 1937, no.235, p.213).
An interesting feature is that Baktamur is described here as al-Saifi, a nisba borne out by the original engraving on the blazon. Under the prominent cup can be discerned a sword running across the central panel. It can only be assumed that, having commissioned this tray, Baktamur was promoted to the cup-bearer's role. It was presumably too late to change the inscription to include the appropriate "al-Saqi", but the point was made in the blazon.
The band of phoenixes surrounding the centre of our tray is unusual. The phoenix is a motif, originally imported from China, which is very rarely seen in metalwork, although it is found on Mamluk pottery or glass of the period. A similarly drawn band of birds can be seen on a Syrian lustre bottle in the Godman Collection (Godman, 1901, no.359, p.2 and pl.II) or around the neck of a Mamluk enamelled glass bottle in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.41.150). Notably it is also found on a magnificent brass tray of similar epic proportions to ours which is in the Islamic Museum in Doha and is attributed to Cairo or Damascus, early 14th century (Allan, 2002, no.29, pp.90-95). There the phoenixes similarly circle a radiating inscription at the centre of the tray. In his description of the Doha tray, Allan writes that they must have been of considerable royal significance for on that tray they circle the central inscription but also alternate with smaller roundels containing the royal blazon. He goes on to say that whilst there is little evidence to attest as to how Chinese motifs such as the phoenix arrived in Egypt and Syria, they are likely to have done so through the trade in luxury goods such as porcelain or textiles. He mentions also the regular movement of people, in particular a continuing drainage of Mongols into the Mamluk court. Muhammad ibn Qalawun’s mother was a Mongol princess, so this sort of material was probably already familiar in the court from the time of al-Nasir Muhammad’s childhood (Allan, 2002, p.95).
The name of the patron of our tray is given as Al-Saifi Baktamur al-Abu Bakri. Gaston Wiet records two mentions of a Baktamur in his Objets en cuivre, catalogue général du musée arabe du Caire (Cairo, 1937). One is on a candlestick which, like our tray, bears the cup-bearer’s blazon. There the patron is referred to as Saif al-Din Baktamur Saqi (the cup-bearer) (Wiet, 1937, p.196, under no.154). That Baktamur, whose son Shihab al-Din was a great favourite of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, died in 1333 so cannot be the present patron. The other mention of an amir by the name of Baktamur comes on a foundation stone at Khan al-Ahmar dating from AH 708/1308-09 AD that is in the name of the amir Salar bin 'Abdullah (Wiet, 1937, p.93). He is described as being na'ib of Salar for the province of Syria, Salar himself being viceroy for the entire Mamluk kingdom under al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad. Whilst not impossible, it is highly unlikely that this Baktamur is the patron of our tray since he was already in a position of responsibility in 1308 and our tray must have been made in 1341. A third possibility is given by a Baktamur al-Husami who is mentioned as the father of Jamal al-Din Ibrahim, the patron of a candlestick which is dateable to the middle of the 14th century and is now in the Benaki Museum (Wiet, 1937, no.235, p.213).
An interesting feature is that Baktamur is described here as al-Saifi, a nisba borne out by the original engraving on the blazon. Under the prominent cup can be discerned a sword running across the central panel. It can only be assumed that, having commissioned this tray, Baktamur was promoted to the cup-bearer's role. It was presumably too late to change the inscription to include the appropriate "al-Saqi", but the point was made in the blazon.
The band of phoenixes surrounding the centre of our tray is unusual. The phoenix is a motif, originally imported from China, which is very rarely seen in metalwork, although it is found on Mamluk pottery or glass of the period. A similarly drawn band of birds can be seen on a Syrian lustre bottle in the Godman Collection (Godman, 1901, no.359, p.2 and pl.II) or around the neck of a Mamluk enamelled glass bottle in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.41.150). Notably it is also found on a magnificent brass tray of similar epic proportions to ours which is in the Islamic Museum in Doha and is attributed to Cairo or Damascus, early 14th century (Allan, 2002, no.29, pp.90-95). There the phoenixes similarly circle a radiating inscription at the centre of the tray. In his description of the Doha tray, Allan writes that they must have been of considerable royal significance for on that tray they circle the central inscription but also alternate with smaller roundels containing the royal blazon. He goes on to say that whilst there is little evidence to attest as to how Chinese motifs such as the phoenix arrived in Egypt and Syria, they are likely to have done so through the trade in luxury goods such as porcelain or textiles. He mentions also the regular movement of people, in particular a continuing drainage of Mongols into the Mamluk court. Muhammad ibn Qalawun’s mother was a Mongol princess, so this sort of material was probably already familiar in the court from the time of al-Nasir Muhammad’s childhood (Allan, 2002, p.95).