Publication Date
675-7/ 1277-9
Publication Place
-
British Museum
Subject
Yellow brass, perforated, engraved and inlaid with silver.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
القطر 18.4 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
1878.12-30.682
Record ID
object;ISL;uk;Mus01;27;ar
Library Location
British Museum
Date
675-7/ 1277-9
Notes
A spherical copper incense burner consisting of two identical hemispheres connected together by a connecting arm, and it has holes through which the smoke from burning incense passes. Balancing beams that cradle a small bowl inside the incense burner help keep it horizontal when the incense burner is moved, a technique known as cardan suspension. This piece, in its spherical shape, resembles a hand warmer, but its large size, and the loop at its top, suggest that it was designed to be hung from the ceiling or to hang from a chain and swing from it to spread the scent of incense. Inlaid silver decorations cover the surface of the incense burner in the form of four concentric circles. The edge of each hemisphere bears an inscription band of inlaid silver on an arabesque ground, surmounted by five medallions, each containing a double-headed eagle, alternating with roundels decorated with geometric patterns on a spiral-shaped arabesque ground. Another inscription band is positioned at either end of the ball and a perforated medallion is placed at its top, which includes a design of double-headed eagles and seven-headed masks. The double-headed eagle was popularly used as a coat of arms by many Mamluk sultans, but here it appears more as a decorative element than as a emblem. The pictorial decorations that were common on Ayyubid coins were gradually replaced by the end of the seventh / thirteenth century with slogans and titles according to the tastes of the Mamluk masters. This piece is considered an example of the rise in popularity of engraving titles on Mamluk decorative pieces. This piece was manufactured for Badr al-Din al-Baysari, as mentioned in the inscription above the incense burner. He was one of the most prominent princes in the early Mamluk period, as confirmed by the phrase “the highest residence.”
Sample Text
Emily Shovelton "Incense burner" in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus01;27;ar
