Page 112 - Bonhams, The H Collection, Classical Chinese Furniture, May 13, 2021 London

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A VENETO-SARACENIC DISH, ASCRIBED TO MAHMED
AL-KURDI
Egypt or Syria，second half of the 15th century
The shallow dish with flat rim, decorated with a dense ground of foliate
designs overlaid with knotted ropework in silver forming cartouches
and medallions, inscribed amal al-mu’allim mahmu[d]/ al-kurdi yarju
al-mahgfi[ra] which can be translated as ‘Work of the master Mahmud
al-Kurdi, hoping for forgiveness’.
36.6cm (14 3/8in) diam.
£25,000 - 40,000
CNY230,000 - 360,000
埃及或敘利亞，十五世紀後半葉 威尼托-薩拉遜式盤
署名Mahmed al-Kurdi

Provenance:
Sotheby’s London, 8 October 2014, lot 104
An important European private collection

來源：
倫敦蘇富比，2014年10月8日，拍品編號104
歐洲重要私人收藏

The inscription on the dish reads:

‘Amal al-mu’allim mahmu[d]/ al-kurdi yarju al-mahgfi[ra]
‘Work of the master Mahmud al-Kurdi, hoping for forgiveness’

‘Veneto-Saracenic wares’, such as the present dish, were often finely
worked and manifested plural influences deriving from the extensive
trade network between Renaissance Europe and the Islamic world at
this time. These wares have been variously attributed to both Venice
and the Middle East seen them be attributed to both Venice and
the Middle East. In this context, the signature of Mahmud al-Kurdi
presents a particular challenge because it appears both in Arabic (or
Persian) and transliterated Roman script. It is still uncertain whether
these signatures should be ascribed to a single master or rather than
an entire atelier. Although a small number of signed works have been
safely attributed to the master himself, there are several other works
which could possibly be ascribed to him, including the present dish,
whose stylistic features could be attributable to his period.

For a further discussion on the works by Mahmud al-Kurdi, see S.Auld,
Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud the Kurd: A metalworking
Enigma, London, 2004.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
110 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.