Plaster Casts of Ceiling Elements
1872-1879 (made)
1872-1879 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These large and coloured plaster casts of architectural elements probably come from a Mamluk house called the Qasr Rumi, now demolished, which once stood near the Bab Zuwayla in Cairo. They once decorated the lavish rooms of the ‘maison arabe’ of the French aristocrat, the Comte Gaston de St Maurice (1831-1905), which was built for him between 1872 and 1879.
St Maurice lived in Cairo for twenty years, serving as equerry to the Khedive (Ottoman governor) of Egypt. During that period, he accumulated a large collection of historic objects from Islamic Egypt, dating especially from the 14th-16th centuries but also including some 19th-century objects. The V&A acquired about 200 objects from St Maurice collection in 1884.
St Maurice lived in Cairo for twenty years, serving as equerry to the Khedive (Ottoman governor) of Egypt. During that period, he accumulated a large collection of historic objects from Islamic Egypt, dating especially from the 14th-16th centuries but also including some 19th-century objects. The V&A acquired about 200 objects from St Maurice collection in 1884.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | |
| Materials and techniques | Plaster casts, coloured and gilded |
| Brief description | Set of large-scale casts, coloured and gilded, of different ceiling elements from a 15th-century house in the Harat al-Rum (possibly the Qasr Rumi), Cairo. St Maurice collection. |
| Physical description | Set of large-scale casts, coloured and gilded, of different ceiling elements from a Mamluk house: a pendentive cornice formed of two angled curved sections decorated with Arabic calligraphy, punctuated by muqarnas (stalactite) niches (extant); two "stalactite brackets" (disposed); and "parts of a ceiling". The extant pieces to which these parts must refer are: a flat square section decorated with a star and cross pattern; and a large section of a coffered ceiling, with three beams. These casts seem to have been made from the same pinkish locally-available Egyptian building plaster which is used to make the other casts from the St Maurice collection. |
| Style | |
| Object history | Bought from the collection of Gaston de Saint-Maurice (1831-1905) in 1884. Saint-Maurice displayed his extensive art collection at the 1878 Paris exhibition, in a gallery entitled L'Egypte des Khalifes. This was part of an official sequence of displays celebrating the history of Egypt, presented by the Egyptian state at this international event. Saint-Maurice held a position at the Khedival court, and had lived in Cairo in 1868-1878. Following the exhibition, Saint-Maurice offered his collection for sale to the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A). |
| Historical context | The pendent cornice (1030-1884) was as copied in the Museum and given the number Repro.1884-820. This reproduction was recorded as being on loan to the Royal Scottish Museum according to nominal file (12/12/21). |
| Associations | |
| Summary | These large and coloured plaster casts of architectural elements probably come from a Mamluk house called the Qasr Rumi, now demolished, which once stood near the Bab Zuwayla in Cairo. They once decorated the lavish rooms of the ‘maison arabe’ of the French aristocrat, the Comte Gaston de St Maurice (1831-1905), which was built for him between 1872 and 1879. St Maurice lived in Cairo for twenty years, serving as equerry to the Khedive (Ottoman governor) of Egypt. During that period, he accumulated a large collection of historic objects from Islamic Egypt, dating especially from the 14th-16th centuries but also including some 19th-century objects. The V&A acquired about 200 objects from St Maurice collection in 1884. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1030-1884 |
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| Record created | July 30, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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