A POST-MAMLUK BRASS FLASK MADE FOR SULTAN NASIR AL-DUNYA WA'L-DIN
OTTOMAN PROVINCES, 15TH/ 16TH CENTURY
£2,142
Auction: 11 December 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
of bulbous squat form, cylindrical neck with moulding around the base, decorated with a wide band of inscription in thuluth on a reserve of delicate scrolling vines, the moulded band decorated with cross-hatching alternating with scrolling vines separated by trefoils, the shoulder decorated with arabesque and split-palmettes
Dimensions
19cm high
Footnote
The inscriptions read: mimma ‘umila bi-rasm al-sultan al-a’zam al-a’dal nasir al-dun[y]a wa’l-din khallada mulkahu ‘, which translates as: ’“One of what was made for the greatest, most just sultan, Nasir al-Dun[y]a wa’l-Din, may [God] perpetuate his dominion”
Whilst this flask is fragmentary and in a poor state, the inscriptions written in elegant thuluth against a scrolling leafy vine background are rare as they contain the words ‘made for’ and the name of a ruling sultan.