Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1928
Publication Place
Syria (made, probably) -
Subject
Christie, Agatha Mary Dame
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Height: 137cm
(Note: Measured by MRO 30/06/23), Width: 118cm
(Note: Measured by MRO 30/06/23), Depth: 57cm
(Note: Measured by MRO 30/06/23)
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
ME.76-2023
Record ID
ME.76-2023
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1928
Notes
Chest of five drawers, inlaid in mother-of-pearl, outlined by silver wire, and banded by bone and dark wood. An Arabic inscription on the top of the chest gives the name of 'Agatha Christie' and the date which is equivalent to 18 December 1928. Made in Syria (probably Damascus).
Sample Text
Agatha Christie 18 K 1 sanah 1928 Translation Agatha Christie 18th Kanun al-Awwal [December] year 1928 Note Kanun al-Awwal is the Arabic phrase used in the Levant and Iraq to refer to the month of December in the Gregorian (solar) calendar. K 1 is a type of abbreviation used in Ottoman official documents for months in the Hijri (lunar). The inscription indicates that the chest of drawers was made for the best-selling crime writer, Agatha Christie (1890-1976). 1928 was the year Christie travelled to the Middle East for the first time as an adult, following her divorce from her first husband.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
The bone used is probably camel bone, though this needs to be verified. The wood used to make the chest is probably teak. The metal wire outlining the design is probably tin. Mother of Pearl Bone Teak Tin Inlaid
Fiziksel açıklama
Chest of five drawers, Syria, 1928. The chest is fully inlaid all over the front with designs in mother-of-pearl, outlined by silver wire, and banded by bone and dark wood. The sides and top are of wood with a more restrained floral design inlaid with mother-of-pearl. On the top panel at the front of the chest is a bone plaque inlaid with an Arabic inscription in a bluish mother-of- pearl. This reads 'Agatha Christie' and the date which is equivalent to 18 December 1928.
