Hanging Ornament thumbnail 1
Hanging Ornament thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Glass, Room 131

Hanging Ornament

1342-1390 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Glass globe for suspension with a mosque lamp, decorated with gilded and enamelled horizontal frieze of Arabic inscription and Mamluk blazon, produced for Amir Saif al-Din `Aziz al-Alawi, Mamluk Egypt, 1342-1390


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gilded and enamelled glass
Brief description
Glass globe for suspension with a mosque lamp, decorated with gilded and enamelled horizontal frieze of Arabic inscription and Mamluk blazon, Mamluk Egypt, 1340-1390
Physical description
Glass globe for suspension with a mosque lamp, decorated with gilded and enamelled horizontal frieze of Arabic inscription and Mamluk blazon, produced for Amir Saif al-Din `Aziz al-Alawi, Mamluk Egypt, 1342-1390
Dimensions
  • Height: 14.5cm
  • Maximum width: 14.1cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
minma `umila bi-rasm al-maqarr al-ashraf al-`ali al-mawlawi al-kabiri al-muhtarami al-makhdumi al-saifi `aziz al-`alawi al-maliki al-salihi `izz nasrihi (For Saif al-Din `Aziz al-`Alawi, Mamluk officer serving al-Malik al-Salih, indicating one of three Mamluk Sultans: al-Salih Isma`il (r.1342-45), al-Salih Salih (r.1351-54) or al-Salih Hajji (r.1382-90).)
Translation
"Made for His Excellency, the noble, the elevated, the lord, the great, the honoured, the master, Sayf al-Din `Aziz al-`Alawi, [officer of] al-Malik al-Salih, may his victory be glorious."
Gallery label
The globe once served as a decorative fixture on the chains from which a mosque lamp was suspended. The inscription includes the name of an Amir whose building the object once decorated. It is uncertain which Sultan the Amir served of the three possible 'al-Salih's' in the middle of the 14th century.
Object history
The blazon has a white napkin on a red ground, between a self-coloured ground above and a white field below.
Bibliographic references
  • Carboni, S., and Whitehouse, D. Glass of the Sultans, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001 pp.238-9
  • Mayer, L. A., Saracenic Heraldry: A Survey. Oxford, 1933, pp.92-3, and pl.xxxi, 1.
  • Lamm, Carl Johan. Mittelalterliche Gläser und Steinschnittarbeiten aus dem Nahen Osten. 2 vols. Forschungen zur islamischen Kunst, 5. Berlin, 1929-30. pl. 191:7
  • Schmoranz, Gustav. Altorientalische Glas-Gefässe . Vienna, 1898. Figs. 15, 17
Other number
8264 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Accession number
333-1900

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest