Lot 75
A Mamluk silver-inlaid brass penbox bearing the name of Tabtaq al-Sayfi Egypt, late 13th/ early 14th Century
25 October 2021, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£100,000 - £150,000
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A Mamluk silver-inlaid brass penbox bearing the name of Tabtaq al-Sayfi
Egypt, late 13th/ early 14th Century
Egypt, late 13th/ early 14th Century
of rectangular form on four later feet with lifting lid, drilled holes to back and front for hinges and hasp (no longer present), profusely engraved and decorated in silver inlay with a band of inscription in thuluth interspersed by rosettes, above and below, bands of rosettes on a ground of vegetal interlace with perching birds, the sides of the lid with inscriptions interspersed by roundels containing rosettes, the lower edge with a band of cable design, the sides of the box with a band of inscription interspersed by roundels filled with rosettes, above and below scrolling vines and roundels with rosettes, the base with geometric interlace centred around eight-petalled flowerheads, the interior of the lid with a band of inscriptions interspersed by roundels with floral interlace and geometric motifs, above and below a band with a geometric design and further roundels, the interior base with three large roundels filled with stellar designs on a ground of geometric design, the interior walls with pseudo-kufic on a ground of geometric and vegetal interlace, later removable brass stand for inkwell and pens to interior
32.4 x 8.9 x 8.2 cm.
32.4 x 8.9 x 8.2 cm.
Footnotes
Inscriptions: to the lid mimma 'umila bi-rasm al-maqarr al-ashraf/ al-'ali al-mawlawi al-'alimi al-'adili al-ghazi al-mjahidi al-makhdumi tabtaq al-sayfi , 'One of what was made for the noble (al-ashraf) authority, the high, the lordly, the learned, the just, the conqueror, the holy warrior, the well-served Tabtaq al-Sayfi'.
To the sides of the lid, li-mawlana a/ al-sultan al-malik al-'adil / al-'ali al-ajalli al-mathaghir[i]/.... al-murabit al-mathaghir ....'izz ... al-sultan al-malik/ al-'ali al-ajall a / ... / al-murabit al-'amil/ al-murabit al-mathaghir, 'For our lord, the sultan, the just king, the high, the most glorious, the protector of frontiers, .... The defender, the protector of frontiers. Glory ... the sultan the high king, the most glorious .... The defender, the diligent, the defender, the protector of frontiers'.
Inside the lid, mimma 'umila bi-rasm ...., 'One of what was made for...'.
To the sides of the body, fadl allah al-karim/ wa kull 'ata'uhu al-'amim / ... al-maqarr al-ashraf / al-'ali al-mawlawi al-makhdumi/ al-ghaz[i?] al-mujahidi / al-murabiti/ al-mujahid al-murabit/ al-'adil al-'alim fadl allah al-karim/ .... Wa kull 'ata'uhu al-'amim / 'izz li-mawlana (?) al-ashraf / al-'a (?) al-mujahidi/ al-murabiti, 'The grace of God, the Generous and every complete gift of His. The noble authority, the high, the lordly, the well-served, the conqueror, the holy-warrior (?), the defender, the holy warrior, the defender, the just, the learned. The grace of God, the Generous and every complete gift of His. Glory to our lord (?) the noble, the holy warrior, the defender'.
The name carried by this vessel is almost certainly linked to Amir Tabtaq, one of the officers under al-Malik al-Ashraf Khalil, who ruled from AH 689–93 / AD 1290–4. Tabtaq was the governor of the city of Qus in Upper Egypt, during the third reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun (AH 709–41 / AD 1309–40). A silver-inlaid basin, and a silver-inlaid ewer, both bearing his name, are in the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo (24085 & 24084). Another penbox of similar manufacture dated to circa 1300 is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (371-1897).