A FINE MAMLUK ENGRAVED BRASS CANDLESTICK BASE
Egypt or Syria, 14th century

Of typical truncated conical shape, resting on a splayed circular base, the slightly recessed flat shoulders and gilt wooden tubular neck added in recent times, the body engraved with a wide decorative frieze featuring a fine thuluth inscription on a ground of vegetal scrolls, interspersed amidst two large roundels containing typical motifs encountered on Mamluk brass creations like a central calligraphic medallion surrounded by a band of dense floral sprays with rosettes and lotus flowers, the outer edge of the splayed base engraved with scrolling vines and foliage, the interior with an old inventory sticker reading 4A, the original base 12.5cm high, 26cm high including the later additions.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 20 April 2016, lot 114, sold as property from a French Private Collection.

Inscription: The High Authority, the Lordly, the Great Amir, the Councillor, [an officer of] al-Malik al-Salih