Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1000
Publication Place
Sicily (made) Egypt (made) -
Subject
Geometric Patterns
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Height: 17cm, Width: 25cm, Depth: 16cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
700-1884
Record ID
700-1884
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1000
Notes
This casket would have been used for storage. It provides evidence of the artistic exchange between Europe and the Middle East. It was made in Sicily or southern Italy. For its base, however, the maker reused an earlier piece of woodwork with ivory inlay. This woodwork is an extremely rare example of a technique used in Cairo in the Fatimid period (969â1171). In the medieval period, luxury goods from the Islamic Middle East found a ready market in Christian-ruled Europe. These imports enjoyed such enormous prestige that luxury goods made in Europe were often decorated in Islamic styles.
Sample Text
barakah Translation 'blessing' (Arabic) Note tentative reading of the bold inscription on the base
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Wood and ivory with traces of colour and gilding Ivory Wood Silver Mastic Painting Gilding
Fiziksel açıklama
Wood covered with panels of ivory decorated in outline with traces of colour and gilding; the mounts of silver. On the bottom is a panel inlaid with ivory, black mastic and wood, with a mutilated Kufic inscription reading 'barakah' ('blessing').
Üretim
Wooden casket made in Sicily or southern Italy, ca. 1200-1250. The base is a reused piece of earlier (Fatimid) woodwork with ivory inlay (probably Cairo, ca. 1000-1150).
