Seal. Carnelian, dark red, oval, engraved.
An oval carnelian of medium re-brown, with a curved cabochon surface engraved in the centre with ‘Ya Hanan’ (O refuge) in reserve against a cross-hatched ground:
یا حن
The outer border is engraved with Nade Ali:
ناد علیا مظهر العجائب
تجده عونا لک فی النّوائب
کلّ غمٍّ و هَمٍّ سَینجَلی
بِوَلایَتِکَ یا علی
Some chips on the back.

Seal. Carnelian, dark red, oval, engraved with Arabic inscription 'O Refuge' within border on tooled ground; a second inscription around.

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).

Saracenic

Oval carnelian seal engraved with Arabic inscription 'O Refuge' within a border.

961-1884