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Lot Essay
Around the body: al-maqarr al-‘a/li al-‘alimi /al-‘alimi a/l-ghazi al-‘a/limi al-‘alimi/al-maliki, 'The high authority, the learned, the learned, the holy warrior, the learned, the learned, the possessor'
On the base: al-maqarr al-‘ali al-maliki al-‘alimi al-maliki
‘The high authority, the possessor, the learned, the possessor’
While the inscription does not name a patron, the quality of the commission is self-evident in this jewel-like bowl. The finely executed decoration combined with language used would suggest it was intended for a high-ranking patron. The benedictory inscriptions here are not just typical of similar metalwork but can be found on many other forms of Mamluk art and architecture of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. However, what is more unusual about our bowl is the extent of decoration which completely covers the outside of the base. No exterior surface has been ignored and the rim is even adorned with birds in flight. A similarly decorated bowl, albeit with more naturalistic motifs but also with radiating thuluth on the base, is in the Museum of Oriental Art Giuseppe Tucci, Rome (inv 19322⁄14898) and another highly adorned bowl is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.91.1.534).
On the base: al-maqarr al-‘ali al-maliki al-‘alimi al-maliki
‘The high authority, the possessor, the learned, the possessor’
While the inscription does not name a patron, the quality of the commission is self-evident in this jewel-like bowl. The finely executed decoration combined with language used would suggest it was intended for a high-ranking patron. The benedictory inscriptions here are not just typical of similar metalwork but can be found on many other forms of Mamluk art and architecture of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. However, what is more unusual about our bowl is the extent of decoration which completely covers the outside of the base. No exterior surface has been ignored and the rim is even adorned with birds in flight. A similarly decorated bowl, albeit with more naturalistic motifs but also with radiating thuluth on the base, is in the Museum of Oriental Art Giuseppe Tucci, Rome (inv 19322⁄14898) and another highly adorned bowl is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv.91.1.534).