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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Bowl

1468-1496 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Egypt (made)
Cairo (made)

During the reign of the Mamluk sultan Qa’itbay there was an upsurge in artistic production and quality. This was thanks in no small part to the sultan’s own enthusiastic patronage. While many of the artworks he commissioned were mosques and the furnishings to go with them, some objects appear to have been made for him personally. This beautiful deep-sided basin is inlaid with an inscription that reads: ‘Glory to our lord, the Sultan, the just ruler, the holy warrior, the guardian of the frontiers, the one aided [by God], the victorious, sultan of Islam and the Muslims, al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu'l-Nasr Qa'itbay’.

Object details

Categories
Islam
Metalwork
Africa
Object type
Bowl
Materials and techniques
Raised from brass sheet by hammering, with engraved and inlaid decoration. The inlay in gold and silver. Other materials (e.g. a black composition) may also have been used in the decoration but are now lost.
Brass
Silver
Gold
Hammering
Inlay
Repoussé
Brief description
Basin made for Sultan Qa'itbay, Egypt (probably Cairo), 1468-96.
Physical description
Deep-sided brass basin, with repoussé, engraved and inlaid decoration.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15.4cm
  • Diameter: 40.6cm
Style
Mamluk
Marks and inscriptions
  • عزّ لمولانا السّلطان الملك العادل االمجاهد المرابط المؤيد المنصور سلطان الاسلام والمسلمين الملك الأشرف أبو النّصر قايتباي عزّ نصره (Arabic; inscription in large cartouches; reading after Lane-Poole.)
  • IN CENTRAL FESS: عزّ لمولانا السّلطان الملك الأشرف IN UPPER FIELD: أبو النّصر قايتباي IN LOWER FIELD: عزّ نصره (Arabic; inscription in epigraphic blazons; reading after Lane-Poole.)
Gallery label
(Jameel Gallery)
Jameel Gallery

Basin for Sultan Qa'itbay
Egypt, probably Cairo
1468-96

This basin bears inscriptions glorifying Sultan Qa'itbay, for whom it was probably made. The sultan revived the production of inlaid metalwork, which had all but ceased during the 15th century. Several different models must have inspired the pieces made in his reign, since their decoration is very varied.

Brass inlaid with silver, gold and a black composition

Museum no. 1325-1856
Production
Decorated with inscriptions naming the Mamluk sultan Qa'itbay, who ruled from 1468 to 1496.
Summary
During the reign of the Mamluk sultan Qa’itbay there was an upsurge in artistic production and quality. This was thanks in no small part to the sultan’s own enthusiastic patronage. While many of the artworks he commissioned were mosques and the furnishings to go with them, some objects appear to have been made for him personally. This beautiful deep-sided basin is inlaid with an inscription that reads: ‘Glory to our lord, the Sultan, the just ruler, the holy warrior, the guardian of the frontiers, the one aided [by God], the victorious, sultan of Islam and the Muslims, al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu'l-Nasr Qa'itbay’.
Bibliographic references
  • Stanley Lane-Poole, The Art of the Saracens in Egypt, London, 1886, p.237, fig.89; p.238.
  • Tim Stanley (ed.), with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004 pp.56, 98-9
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
1325-1856

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Record createdSeptember 29, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84518/bowl-unknown/
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