Page 186 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

166 *168
A SAHARAN QUR'AN A LARGE GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRASS MAMLUK REVIVAL Like the previous lot, this sunduq was modelled on an example in the Dar al-
SIGNED AL-HAJ IBRAHIM AL-IMAM, WEST AFRICA, DATED 27 BOX (SUNDUQ) Athar al-Arabiyya dating from the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad (Islamic Art in
SHA'BAN AH 1375/MARCH 1956 AD WORKSHOP OF GIUSEPPE PARVIS (D. 1909), CAIRO, EGYPT, 19TH
Egypt, exhibition catalogue, Cairo, 1969, no. 9). A similar nineteenth century
Unbound Arabic manuscript on paper, 506ff., each folio with 13ll. of black CENTURY example in the Khalili collection contains a note written in 1907 saying
sudani script within red rules, vocalisation in green and brown, catchwords, The body decorated with verses from the Qur'an in thuluth against a swirling that it was ‘the beautiful workmanship of Mr. Parviss of Cairo’ (S. Vernoit,
with both circular and elongated marginal motifs, sura headings in brown ink, vegetal ground within foliate borders and raised studs, the chamfered sides Occidentalism, Oxford, 1997, p. 230). Giuseppe Parvis (d. 1909) was an Italian
the opening folios with red, green, and gold geometric patterns, enclosed by of the cover decorated with knotted kufic inscriptions on foliate ground, top wood-carver whose workshop was commissioned by Khedive Isma’il to
two boards one signed and dated, unbound but enclosed in blind tooled brown panel of the cover decorated with interlacing arabesques on a foliate ground
leather wrap with strap to fasten in place, with leather box to carry it in around a central calligraphic roundel, the interior lined with red velvet, on four make objets d’art to display at world fairs like the Philadelphia Centennial
166 Text panel 5q x 3¿in. (14.1 x 8cm.); folio 9º x 7¿in. (23.6 x 17.9cm.) cylindrical feet with inscriptions exhibition in 1876. it was his firm which was given access to the Museum of
17¿ x 10¬ x 17¡in. (43.5 x 27 x 44cm.) Arab Art from 1890. Another sunduq box from this workshop with identical
£3,000-5,000 US$3,500-5,700
inscriptions to the present lot can be seein in the Los Angeles County
€3,500-5,700 £8,000-12,000 US$9,200-14,000
Museum of Art (M.73.41). A similar sunduq, also attributable to Parvis, sold in
€9,200-14,000
See also a number of comparable Saharan qur'ans in The British Museum these Rooms, 7 April 2011, lot 407.
(Af1979,01.19) and (Af1996,13.8)
INSCRIPTIONS:
Around the sides in large thuluth, Qur'an 2:255.
On the top, in the border, Qur'an 3:18-19 (in part) and 3:26-27 (in part).
On the top, in the rosette, an extract of the prayer on the Beautiful Names.
Large kufic around the shoulder, undeciphered.

†167
A GOLD AND SILVER INLAID BRASS KURSI
EGYPT OR SYRIA, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Of hexagonal cylindrical form on six bulbous feet, the pierced and incised sides
with arched openings, calligraphic roundels and cartouches, one side with two
doors in the centre, the top with similar decoration around a central roundel
34ºin. (87cm.) high; 16qin. (41.6cm.) diam.
£12,000-18,000 US$14,000-21,000
€14,000-20,000

INSCRIPTIONS:
Around the border of the top: ‘izz li-mawlana al-sultan al-‘alim | al-‘adil
al-mujahid al-murabit al-muthaghir al-mu’ | ayyad al-mansur sultan islam
wa’l-muslimin qatil al-kafara wa’l-mushrikin muhyi al-‘adil [sic] fi’l-‘alamin mujir
al-mazlumin min al-zalimin | al-mansur al-shahid ibn qalawun al-salihi ‘azza
nasrahu, ‘Glory to our Lord, the sultan, the learned, the just, the holy warrior,
the defender, the protector of frontiers, the supported (by God), the victorious,
the sultan of Islam and Muslims, the slayer of unbelievers and polytheists,
the reviver of justice in the worlds, the defender of the oppressed from the
oppressors, al-Mansur, the martyr, ibn Qalawun al-Salihi, may [God] glorify his
victory’
Around the border of the roundel in the center: ‘izz li-mawlana al-sultan al-
malik al-‘alim al-nasir qalawun al-…, 'Glory to our Lord, the sultan, the wise king,
al-Nasir Qalawun al-…’
In the center of the roundel: 'Muhammad'
On the sides are variations of the same inscriptions
The Mamluk revival of the late nineteenth-century was a response to a surge
of interest in Egypt’s medieval past, triggered by the opening of the Dar
al-Athar al-Arabiyya (Museum of Arabic Art) in Cairo in 1884. The demand for
Mamluk-era antiques was met by craftsmen who produced objects modelled
on items in the museum collection. This kursi was based on a prototype
made for Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1294-1340, with interruptions) in AH
728/1327-28 AD by Muhammad ibn Sunqur al-Baghdadi, which is kept today
167
in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. Another nineteenth-century kursi, with
inscriptions also modelled on those of the original, is in the Khalili collection
(S. Vernoit, Occidentalism, Oxford, 1997, p. 239). A similar nineteenth-century
example sold at Sotheby’s, London, 18 April 2007, lot 207.

184 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 185
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.