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Lot Essay
The main band on the body: al-maqarr al-'ali al-mawlawi al-amiri al-murabiti al-'alimi al-humami al-maliki al-nasiri, ‘The high authority, the lordly, the commander, the defender, the learned, the (officer) of al-Malik al-Nasir’
In the roundels: al-maqarr al-‘ali al-mawlawi al-amiri al-kabiri al-maliki al-nasiri, ‘The high authority, the lordly, the great commander, the (officer) of al-Malik al-Nasir’
This candlestick is an impressive example of inlaid metal vessels made in the reign of Mamluk Sultan al-Nasir Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun who reigned for almost the entire period between 1293 and 1341. Under his patronage, the art of the Mamluk metalworker reached its apogee, producing spectacular metalwork consisting of bowls, dishes, boxes, trays and candlesticks.
By the beginning of the 14th century, during his third reign, figural decoration had given way to bold thuluth inscriptions, creating a formal display of honorific titles (Rachel Ward, “Brass, Gold and Silver from Mamluk Egypt: Metal Vessels Made for Sultan Al-Nasir Musammad. A Memorial Lecture for Mark Zebrowski.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 14, no. 1 (2004): 59–73). These bold inscriptions heightened the monumentality of the metalwork they adorned, emphasised here by the large-scale of this candlestick.
Ward notes the stylistic influence of Ilkhanid Iran in metalwork of this period, most obviously manifested in chinoiserie motifs such as lotus flowers, owing to the increase in trade and political relations between Ilkhanid Iran and the Mamluk empire (Rachel Ward, op.cit. p.66). This influence is illustrated in the lotus flower roundels that punctuate the inscriptions on the present candlestick and similarly drawn lotus flowers are also found on a magnificent basin in the British Museum also made in Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad's name (1851.14.1; Esin Atil, Renaissance of Islam. Art of the Mamluks, exhibition catalogue, Washington DC, 1981, pp.88-89, no.26) and a candlestick base in the MET Museum (acc.no.1971.40). A further candlestick attributed to the reign of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir was sold at Sotheby's, London, 8 October 2008, lot 116.
In the roundels: al-maqarr al-‘ali al-mawlawi al-amiri al-kabiri al-maliki al-nasiri, ‘The high authority, the lordly, the great commander, the (officer) of al-Malik al-Nasir’
This candlestick is an impressive example of inlaid metal vessels made in the reign of Mamluk Sultan al-Nasir Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun who reigned for almost the entire period between 1293 and 1341. Under his patronage, the art of the Mamluk metalworker reached its apogee, producing spectacular metalwork consisting of bowls, dishes, boxes, trays and candlesticks.
By the beginning of the 14th century, during his third reign, figural decoration had given way to bold thuluth inscriptions, creating a formal display of honorific titles (Rachel Ward, “Brass, Gold and Silver from Mamluk Egypt: Metal Vessels Made for Sultan Al-Nasir Musammad. A Memorial Lecture for Mark Zebrowski.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 14, no. 1 (2004): 59–73). These bold inscriptions heightened the monumentality of the metalwork they adorned, emphasised here by the large-scale of this candlestick.
Ward notes the stylistic influence of Ilkhanid Iran in metalwork of this period, most obviously manifested in chinoiserie motifs such as lotus flowers, owing to the increase in trade and political relations between Ilkhanid Iran and the Mamluk empire (Rachel Ward, op.cit. p.66). This influence is illustrated in the lotus flower roundels that punctuate the inscriptions on the present candlestick and similarly drawn lotus flowers are also found on a magnificent basin in the British Museum also made in Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad's name (1851.14.1; Esin Atil, Renaissance of Islam. Art of the Mamluks, exhibition catalogue, Washington DC, 1981, pp.88-89, no.26) and a candlestick base in the MET Museum (acc.no.1971.40). A further candlestick attributed to the reign of Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir was sold at Sotheby's, London, 8 October 2008, lot 116.