Collection particulière belge

The silver inlay remains clearly visible in the decoration of this elegant brass bowl. It has been deeply chiselled, and the remnants of black paste set into the engraving accentuate the inscriptions and other floral and interlaced motifs. The decoration—particularly the presence of an open lotus—recalls Mamluk metalwork of the fourteenth century (see, for example, a small basin dated 1354–61, now in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, in James W. Allan and Nihad al-Sayyid, Islamic Metalwork: the Nuhad es-Said Collection, London, 1982, cat. 22, pp. 102–103).

Nevertheless, the simple hemispherical form with a pronounced rim, the rather approximate thuluth calligraphic style, the ring of fish engraved on the interior, and the radiating motif beneath the base are characteristic of so-called “Veneto-Saracenic” wares, many of which were produced for export to Venice and other European cities. This example corresponds to “Type B, typically late Mamluk” as defined by Sylvia Auld in her fundamental study on the subject (Renaissance Venice, Islam, and Mahmud the Kurd – a Metalworking Enigma, London, 2004; see also lot 347 for a discussion of this production).

This bowl may be compared with another example retaining its cover, sold at Christie’s, London, 30 October 2025, lot 23.