Presale Islamic and Indian art from a Private Collection in Rome and other provenances. In partnership with BAIAS Arte.
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Lot 25 Mosaic glass 'millefleur' cup
Near East, Mesopotamia, Medieval period
Circular, concave, decorated with the mosaic technique in shades of red, yellow, blue and green. This type of pattern, commonly known as ¿a thousand flowers¿ was very popular in the Near East since the Hellenistic period.
D. 7.5 X h. 5.5 cm -
Lot 26 Mother-of-pearl diorama of the Nativity
Jerusalem, 19th century
Architectural model with a reproduction of the Nativity. Objects of this type were produced in the Holy Land mainly as pilgrimage souvenirs from the land that unites the three 'religions of the book': Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
36x34,5x7,5 cm -
Lot 27 Mother-of-pearl diorama of the Last Supper
Jerusalem, 19th century
Architectural model with a reproduction of the Last Supper within a fretworked frame with whirling plant sprays. Objects of this type were produced in the Holy Land mainly as pilgrimage souvenirs from the land that unites the three 'religions of the book': Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
23.5 X 30 X H. 5 cm -
Lot 28 Indo-Portuguese mother-of-pearl dish
Northwest India, Gujarat, 17th century
shallow and with a poly-lobed rim. Covered in nailed mother-of-pearl tesserae arranged to form a radial fish scale decoration around a central flower in the inner round. For a comparative example see Bonhams London, India in Art, 7 June 2023, lot 36.Mother-of-pearl objects created in the Gujarat region were imported to Europe via the routes of Portuguese merchants as early as the first half of the 16th century and made their way into princely wunderkammer collections. The first documented example was preserved in the Green Vaults in Dresden and first recorded in an inventory of 1586 (Seipel 2000, cat. no. 67 p.160-61).
D. 20 cm -
Lot 29 An Indo-Portoguese mother-of-pearl round box and cover
North-Western India, Gujarat, 17th-18th century
in the rare form of a cylindrical case with a domed lid, similar to a pyxis, covered with nailed mother-of-pearl tiles. The top decorated with tiles in a floral arrangement. Mother-of-pearl objects created in the Gujarat region were imported to Europe via the routes of Portuguese merchants as early as the first half of the 16th century and made their way into princely wunderkammer collections. The first documented example was preserved in the Green Vaults in Dresden and first recorded in an inventory of 1586 (Seipel 2000, cat. no. 67 p.160-61).
H. 16 X D. 11.5 cm -
Lot 30 Indo-Portuguese mother-of-pearl casket
Northwest India, Gujarat, 18th century
Rectangular, resting on four feet and with a domed lid with metal hinges. Decorated with mother-of-pearl tiles in geometric arrangement: triangular to form hexagons and stars on the outside; rectangular and square on the inside.
20 X 14 cm -
Lot 31 An Ottoman Tea set with coral and turquoise incrustations
Balkans, 19th century
In embossed, gilded and filigree silver, set comprising nine cup holders (zarfs), central teapot decorated with embossed racemes and tray. Each component of the set is decorated with coral and turquoise encrustations, and each of the ten holders on the tray has an Arabic inscription, alternating with a six-pointed star and pseudo sultanial thughra in a central position. Inscription: Al 'Alim (The Omniscient)
D. 40 cm -
Lot 32 A Mughal style bone casket
India, 19th century
Made of several bone palques with dense plant motifs and religious inscriptions in Arabic within circular reserves.
H. 11 X l. 19 X P. 14 cm -
Lot 33 A Cairoware hand warmer
Egypt, early 20th century
A metal bivalve sphere, decorated with brass, copper and silver wire inlays with classic motifs from the Mesopotamian and Mamluk repertoire: Y motif, cogwheels, vine leaves and large inscriptions in thuluth calligraphy. Decorative object, it has no holes for the passage of the smoke.
H. 12 X D. 12 cm -
Lot 34 Two metal Qibla indicators
Iran, 19th century
Two scientific instruments for identifying the direction of prayer towards Mecca. One rectangular in cast brass engraved and decorated with arabesques and a zoomorphic indicator; the other circular (diam. 16.5 cm) in bronze. Both engraved with the planets and months and Iranian cities.
14 X 10 cm -
Lot 35 Nasride-style folding armchair
Spain, 19th century
Savonarola-style folding armchair made of wood with geometric inlays of bone, different woods and burlwood. Printed and painted leather seat and back with floral motifs, cartouches with Arabic inscription and coats of arms freely inspired by the Nasride one.
94 X 65,5 X 50 cm -
Lot 36 A Grenada marquetry casket
Spain, 19th century
Jewelry box made of wood inlaid with bone, different woods and burl wood. Openable, the interior shows six drawers, two side niches with mirror and central compartment bordered by miniature architectural arches. Hinged lid with central mirror within carved rosette. The exterior and doors bear the classic geometric Nasrid motif repeated. Small damages.For comparison cfr. Christie's London, Art of the Islamic and Indian World Including rugs and Carpets, 25 Aprile 2024, lot 20.
26,5 X 18,5 X 35,5 cm -
Lot 37 An Ispano-Moresque Mudejar wood and bone inlaid chest
Spain, 16th - 17th century
Rectangular, with hinged lid. The outer walls decorated with geometric bone inlays within rectangular cartouches, the lid decorated on both sides with carvings and inlays in floral and radial arrangements. To deepen the subject cfr. Caliphs and Kings: the art and influence of Islamic Spain - selections from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, 2004, cat. 86, p. 162.
44,5 X 31 X 17,5 cm -
Lot 38 A Mudejar wood and bone box
Spain, 16th century
Rectangular chest with hinged lid, inlaid with bone micromosaic tesserae, forming traditional decoration with starbursts, stylised arabesques, roundels and geometric patterns which cover every side of the chest. The top is decorated with a chessboard. A similar item was auctioned by Sotheby's London last 7th October (lot 323), and another one is located in Victoria and Albert Museum (Acc. no. 7224-1860).
26 X 66,5 cm X 36 cm -
Lot 39 An Indo-Portuguese wood and bone casket
India, 19th century
Rectangular, inlaid wood with interlaced circular reserves, interspersed with cruciform flowers and rosettes on the edges. The folding front reveals six drawers with fronts decorated with geometric spirals.
25 X 17 X 14 cm -
Lot 40 Pair of painted wooden calligraphic panels Qajar
Iran, 19th century
Possibly overlaid, made of composite wood, decorated with an inscription in central nasta'liq calligraphy, on a red and green background. Inscription: Ya Fattah alfatahu val faraj (He who opens the door) Ya aba abdallah (greeting to the son of God, usually associated to 'Ali in Shia context)
47 X 88 cm -
Lot 41 A Mughal style wooden fretwork Jali
India or Pakistan, 18th - 19th century
Openworked conifer wood plaque with geometric elements arranged to form an infinite pattern of rosettes.
Provenance: by repute cfr. Sotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World,28th April 2004, Lot 174.
109 X 63,5 cm -
Lot 42 A latticed decorated stone Jali
Northern India, 18th-19th century
Openwork window cover with diamond shaped central pattern, surrounded by repeated cruciform elements. Edge engraved with arrows.
H. 41 X L. 45 X P. 7.5 cm -
Lot 43 A mother-of-pearl inlaid Turban stand (Kavuvklu)
Syria, 20th century
architectural form, carved wood decorated with floral inlays in mother-of-pearl and silver thread.
H. 88.5 cm -
Lot 44 Wooden door with inscriptions
Saudi Arabia (?) 19th century
Two wooden panels forming a door, divided into three overlapping compartments, each containing double inscription within a thin border of carved plant elements on the edges. Inscription: Bi-ismi 'llahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim repeated.
H. 163 X L.44 cm (ciascuna anta) -
Lot 45 Ottoman octagonal box
Turkey, 19th century
Resting on feet, made of wood covered with differently coloured bovine bone tesserae arranged to form rhomboidal pattern decorations on each side of the box and square on the domed top ending in a spherical knob. The use of octagonal boxes dates back to the Byzantine period and was revived in the Ottoman era with the main function of containing religious objects including: the Holy Qur'an (for an example see Turkish and Islamic art Museum Istanbul, Acc. no. 2, 3) or containers of relics (as an example see inv. no. 21/391, in H. Aydin, Hýrka-i Saadet Dairesi ve Mukaddes Emanetler, Kaynak, Istanbul, 2004, p. 108)
19 X 30 cm -
Lot 46 A large fragment of polychrome Nasrid stucco
Southern Spain, Granada, second half of the 14th century
Large stucco fragment moulded with a geometric lattice to form a kaleidoscopic decoration of multipointed squares and stars. Within these geometric lazos bordered in white are atauriques (arabesques) interwoven in bas-relief, while the central position of this fragment is occupied by decoration composed of two overlapping squares containing a flower with hollowed-out concave petals. Consistent traces of polychromy and lacking in the corners. The geometric design of this frieze is reminiscent of the Caliphal period (cfr. claustra at the Archeological Museum of Cordoba, acc. no. 488).
Decorations with a similar decorative scheme are possibly found in the Palace of the Lions in the Alhambra complex, famous moorish architecture in Granada.
Atauriques in the stuccoes of the Alhambra are found as a stand-alone decoration or as a filler and in different variants. The type observed in this fragment is similar to a decoration now in the V&A Museum in London, Acc. no. A.171-1919.
In spite of its apparent simplicity and poor quality, stucco was used in the Nasrid period with great technical skill, coming to constitute the hallmark of the Alhambra, even in its infinite variety of ornamental designs. In the early Nasrid period, these decorations were carved in situ (naqch hadîda technique), from the time of Muhammad III (1302) the technique became standardised and the adoption of moulds became widespread. As for the finishing, some friezes were simply whitewashed, while the most valuable were finished in polychrome with mineral pigments often in shades of blue, red, black and green, sometimes with metallic additions in gold and silver.
A kind of anthology of these decorations was compiled by Owen Johns in his Grammar of Ornaments, first published in London in 1856. Here, Alhambra stuccoes appear among the typical decorations of Moorish art.
For more details see Puertas Fernández, A. 'The Alhambra' Vol. 1., Saqi Books, 1997.
García Bueno, A., and Medina Flórez V. J., The Nasrid Plasterwork at 'qubba Dar al-Manjara l-kubra' in Granada: Characterisation of materials and techniques, Journal of Cultural Heritage 5, 2004.
53.5 X 91.5 cm (65.5 X 103 cm con cornice)
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Lot 47 Carved wooden door elements
Middle East, possibly Bahrain, late 19th century
Pair of rectangular panels, carved wood with cursive calligraphy in the central roundel within a square reserve with four plant-patterned corner decoration. Iron nailing and studs.
73 X 79.8 cm -
Lot 48 White marble stele
Ottoman Turkey, 18th century
Rectangular slab with arched finial, the front sculpted in bas-relief with vine plant in symmetrical arrangement around the central axis. The grapes contribute to the symmetry otherwise altered by the undulating course of the branch. The use of white marble in the area dates back to ancient times, however marble stelae and tombstones have been common in Turkey since the Seljuk of Rum.
H. 81 X 21 X 4 cm