A BRASS MAMLUK DIVINATION BOWL Egypt or Syria...
A BRASS MAMLUK DIVINATION BOWL
Egypt or Syria , late 15th - early 16th century
Of typical rounded form, the centre marked with a conical boss with flat head, the engraved decoration with cusped medallions around the cavetto and several talismanic inscriptions in thuluth and pseud-Syriac script on the interior and exterior, 20cm diam.
Provenance: UK private collection since 1980s.
Our "magic" bowl presents several similarities with a divination bowl part of the British Museum collection (OA+.2603). Indeed, both bowls share the same rounded form with a central conical boss; the patina and the zinc component are prevaricating over the typically warm colour of brass, leaving behind only a few sparks of the original brass finishing; and the talismanic inscriptions seem to have been carried out in the same scripts, i.e. thuluth and illegible pseudo-Syriac. Perhaps less lavishly decorated than their Iranian counterparts, these "magic" bowls act as important witnesses of the practice of fal (divination) in the Middle Eastern and North African territories.
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A BRASS MAMLUK DIVINATION BOWL
Egypt or Syria , late 15th - early 16th century
Of typical rounded form, the centre marked with a conical boss with flat head, the engraved decoration with cusped medallions around the cavetto and several talismanic inscriptions in thuluth and pseud-Syriac script on the interior and exterior, 20cm diam.
Provenance: UK private collection since 1980s.
Our "magic" bowl presents several similarities with a divination bowl part of the British Museum collection (OA+.2603). Indeed, both bowls share the same rounded form with a central conical boss; the patina and the zinc component are prevaricating over the typically warm colour of brass, leaving behind only a few sparks of the original brass finishing; and the talismanic inscriptions seem to have been carried out in the same scripts, i.e. thuluth and illegible pseudo-Syriac. Perhaps less lavishly decorated than their Iranian counterparts, these "magic" bowls act as important witnesses of the practice of fal (divination) in the Middle Eastern and North African territories.
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