! A .1 -L. ' "7 «. CAIRO Sketches of its History, Monuments, and Social Life. By STANLEY LANE=POOLE, i3Io Aiifhor of ' Tlir Art oftJir Snracoif in Egupt,' ' Studies i With Numerous Illustrations on Wood by G. L. SEYMOUR and others ; and a Plan of Cairo, showing the positions of the Principal Mosques. Tke Times.—' As good wine needs no bush, so Mr. Lane-Poole needs no merit but his own to recommend his work on Cairo. . . . Very charming ilhistrations.' The Satio-dai/ Beeiew. — 'Will prove most useful to the innumerable travellers who now every winter visit the Nile valley.' The World.— X most interesting as well as valuable publication.' Vaili) Telegraph.—' Most interestine and instructive sketches of the history, monuments and social life of this ancient city.' Manchester Criiardian. — ' This beautiful book ... Of so many fasci- nating chapters is a thing to accept gratefully.' Tht Scotsman. — ' A volume lull of entertaining and instructive pictures— written with abundant learning, but in an easy, popular and readable style.' Liverpool Merciiri/.—' Likely to become the favourite authority for Cairo.' The Guardian. — 'Its pages are crowded with elegant and careful illustrations of architecture, scenery and characteristic types of mankind. Mr. Lane-Poole has poured out freely into these pages the wealth of his knouied ^e of things new and old." London : J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limitbd, 26, Ivy Lane, Patcrno.«ter Row, B.C. AEAB MUSEUM CATALOGUE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ARAB ART BY MAX HERZ BEY CHIEF ABCniTECT OV THE COMMISSION OF ARAB MONUMENTS CURATOR OP THF. MUSEUM EDITED BY STANLEY LANE-POOLE, MA. HOir. MEMBER OP THE COMMISSIOIT OP AEAB MONUMENTS Author of ' The Art of the Saracens in Egypt,' ' Cairo,' ' Studies in a Mosque,'' ' The Mohammadan Dynasties,'' ' The Speeches of Mohammad,' ' The Moors in Spain,' if-c. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON BERNARD QUARITCH, 15 Piccadilly THE LORD'S PRAYER in 300 Languages Gilbert and Rivington Limited Clerkenavell, London C3 TO IIIS HIGHNESS ABBAS II KHEDIVE OF EGYPT THIS WORK IS, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED' BY THE AUTHOR ivil55^8^6 CONTENTS KOOM Page Peeface . . . . ix Author's Note . xiv Chronological Table . XV Introduction xix Stucco, Stone, and Marble I & Annexes 1,91 Metal-work 11 18 yy ... VII . 77 „ ... Passage 8G „ ... Annex 1 89 Glass III 30 Texts, etc J) 44 WoOB-CARYINCr AND InLAY, etc. IV 45 » » 5) V GO „ ,, iiieshreh'njas VII 75 „ etc. Passage 83 & Annex T 89 Pottery VI 64 Bookbindings VIII . 79 CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS Slab from a Prayer-niche. I, 19 Marble jar and stand. I, 34, 108 Inlaid silver and brass kursy. II, 12. Inlaid silver and brass kursy of En-Nasir. II, 13 Koran case, brass inlaid with silver, and gold. Page face 10 11 face 23 24 11,57 Enamelled glass lamp of Sultan Hasan. Ill, Enamelled glass lamp, xivth c. Ill, 38 Enamelled glass lamp of Sheykhii. Ill, 76 Bronze lantern, 1419. Ill, 130 R 59 Kursy of inlaid ivory and ebony. Carved side of a Sheykh's tomb . Mihrab of Seyyida Rukeyya. IV, 62 Panelled door of Ashrafiya. IV, 64 Filigree bronze lantern, xivth c. IV, 66 The Kaaba in enamelled tile-work. VI, 1G7 Enamelled tile. VI, 172 . Panel of Meshrebiya. VII, 1 . . Door from el-Azhar. Passage, ] . Brass lantern. Passage, 86 . . . face 25 20 . 35 38 42 face 44 face 55 55 face 56 56 57 71 72 76 fare 83 87 Note.— A few of the above are reproduced from Lekegian's plates in the French edition of the Cataloguo. PEEFACE The traveller who visits the temples of the Nile has not seen all the art of ancient Egypt : he must supplement his view of the monuments by a study of the matchless collections of the Giza Museum. In the same way, it is not enough to make the round of the mosques of Cairo : one must also visit the Arab Museum, As the Giza collections illustrate the ancient art by their classified series of objects found in the tombs or rescued from the sand, so the Arab Museum contains those remains of the Saracenic art of the past twelve centuries which have been gathered from the ruins of vanished mosques and palaces. The introduction of a bastard European style, the laying out of new streets, and the broadening of old ones, during the past fifty years, are responsible for more havoc among the monuments of Saracenic art than the centuries of former neglect. The street fights of Mamluk Beys and Turkish Pashas did less damage to the mosques of Cairo than the futile attempt to Europeanize a medieval Eastern city. The ruins of demolished buildings became the happy hunting-ground of collectors and dealers, and the Museums of Europe and the houses of dilettanti are full of the spoils. At last the Government of Egypt, which had already placed restrictions upon the exportation of the relics of ancient art, began to take notice of the spoliation of the Mohammadan monuments, and concert measures for the preservation of the remains of the national art. There was a project for an Arab Museum in 1869, when the Khedive Isma'il authorized Franz Pasha, then chief architect of the Ministry of Wakfs, tu select a suitable building ; but the plan fell through, and it was not till 1880 that the East arcades (or Uwdn) of the Mosque of El-Hakim were appropriated to the reception of objects of Saracenic art. The task of organizing the new Museum was again placed in the able hands of Franz Pasha, who in 1888 removed it to its present place in the court of the same mosque. With the appointment, at the close of 1881, of the the " Commission for the Preservation of the Monu- ments of Arab Art," the Museum entered upon a new and more active phase. Among the leading members of this Commission were scholars, archaeologists, and architects, such as His Excellency Yakub Artin Pasha, the present Under Secretary for Public In- struction, Franz Pasha, the late Eogers Bey, and MM. Bourgoin, Baudry, and Grand Bey ; besides the English officials of the department of Public Works, first Sir Colin Scott Moncrieif, and now Mr. W. E. Garstin. The Commission, to which alone we owe the present greatly improved super- vision and preservation of the mosques and other filEFACE XI buildings of Cairo and elsewhere in l'^gyi)t, was empowered by the late Khedive not only to watch over the monuments and execute such repairs as were necessary to their preservation, but also to transport to the Arab Museum any fragments or detached objects of artistic or historical value which could not be protected in their original position. The ruins of mosques and palaces, which, were beyond the resources of restoration, were carefully searched for such remains, and these form the chief materials of the collections now exhibited in the Museum. The objects differ essentially from those in most public collections, inasmuch as they are nearly all relative, — dependent upon the monument to which they once belonged, — and were seldom designed as separate works of art. All Saracenic art is decora- tive, or subsidiary to architecture ; and the collec- tions of the Arab Museum consist mainly of portions of the decoration and furniture of mosques and private houses, — such as carved and inlaid doors, sculptured stone and plaster ornament, painted ceil- ing-joists, bronze filigree plating, marble mosaic, and other substantive parts of the architectural decora- tion, every piece of which was designed in relation to the main structure. Even detached objects, like the splendid series of enamelled glass lamps, which is the special glory of the Museum, and the exquisite filigree bronze tables inlaid with silver, however beautiful in themselves, were strictly connected with some mosque and in harmony with its decorative Xll PREFACE style. But this relativity of the Arab Museum col- lections in no wise detracts from their beauty or interest. On the contrary, it is only from such specimens of ornament as are there preserved that we are able to study some of the more obscure periods of Saracenic art. The Museum contains fragments which reveal the style and ornament of several vanished mosques of periods hardly represented by any standing monuments. And whilst the carved and inlaid panelling of a door, or the rich colouring of a ceiling, inevitably reminds one of the irreparable loss of the building it once adorned, each individual panel or painted joist is itself a marvel of artistic design and skilled handicraft, and suggests valu- able motives and developments to the student of ornament. To study connectedly the history of Saracenic ornament as elaborated in Egypt, the Museum re- quires to be arranged in strict chronological order. This is manifestly impossible in the present crowded building, already overflowing into two annexes. Plans for a new Museum, with which the Khedivial Library will be combined, have been approved, how- ever, and by 1898 we may hope to see these unique collections worthily housed. Meanwhile the present catalogue provides ample evidence of tlie historical and technical knowledge which Herz Bey, who has been curator of the Museum under the Commission since 1892, is quali- fied to bring to the arrangement and explanation of the collections in his charge. His constant and zealous energy in the work of preserving the Arab monuments, as chief architect to the Commission, has earned him the gratitude of every lover of Cairene art ; and the present catalogue increases the debt. The original edition appeared in French in 1895 ; but it was felt that the large and yearly increasing number of English and American visitors to the Museum called for an English version. The cata- logue in its present form has been somewhat con- densed : Herz Bey's valuable introductions to the various sections have been in some degree recast ; the orthography of Arabic names has been made uniform with that adopted in my Art of the Saracens, and the Egyptian sound of hard 'j is used for the letter Jim ; but in other respects the catalogue itself is substantially unchanged. I hope it will induce every English and American visitor to study the exquisite national art of medieval Egypt, of which the Arab Museum, after the mosques, offers the most complete represen- tation now attainable in Cairo. The study may be continued with advantage among the rich Saracenic collections of the British and South Kensington Museums, which present many objects of rare interest and beauty. STANLEY LANE-POOLE The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, 1 Jan., 1896 AUTHOR'S NOTE On the 20th April, 1892, the Commission or the Preservation of the Monuments entrusted me with the charge of the Museum of Arab Art. For five years previously, since the retirement of H. E. Franz Pasha from the administration of the Wakfs in 1887, the Museum had been without a special curator, and the collections had been allowed to fall into some disorder. My first care was to revise the inventory and re-number the objects. I then drew up a brief MS. catalogue, which was placed in the galleries for the use of the public. But as the number of visitors increased year by year, I con- sidered it desirable to prepare a fresh catalogue raisonne, which should not merely enumerate, but supply an historical and technical commentary on the various objects. For their provenance I have relied upon the original inventory of Franz Pasha. In the detail of the descriptions, T have made it a special point to accurately record the Arabic inscrip- tions ; and here I must acknowledge the valuable assistance of Yusuf Ffendy Ahmad, the draughtsnian to the Commission, who possesses a wide knowledge of Arabic calligraphy, and has often been able to re- construct mutilated inscriptions. I should like also to mention the services rendered by Aly Efendy Bahgad, of the Ministry of Public Instruction. To Yakub Pasha Artin, who has taken a true scholar's interest in the Museum from the beginning, I am indebted for such information as his Excellency is peculiarly fitted to give. Herz CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE EULERS MONUMENTS A.D, 639— 6-il Conquest of Egypt by Mosque of 'Amr, 61'2, 'Amr frequently restored 641 — 868 Governors (98) appointed by Caliphs TULUNIDS 868 Ahmad ibu-Tulun Mosque of Ibn-Tuliii), 876— S 883 Khumiiraweyh 895 Geysh; 896 Hariin; 904 Sheyban 905—934 Governors (13) appointed by Caliphs IKHSHIDIDS 934 Mohammad El-lkhshid 946 Abu-1-Kasim ; 960 'Aly ; 966 Kaffir ; 968 Ah mad FATIMID CALIPHS 969 Ei-Mu'izz Foundation of El-K5hira (Cairo), 969 Mosque El-Azhar, 971 975 El-'AzTz Azhar made a University Mosque of El- Hakim, 996 El-Hakim 990—1012 1020 Ez-Zahir 1035 El-Mustansir Gates and 2nd wall of Cairo, 1087 1094 El-Musta'ly XVI CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE A.D. Rulers Monuments 1101 El-Amir Mosque El-Akmar, 1125 1130 El-Hafiz; 1149 Ez-Zafir 1154 El-Faiz 1160 El-'Adid AYYUBIDS Mosque of Talai' iLn Ruz- zik, 1160 1172 Salah-ed-din (Saladin) Citadel and 3rd wall of Cairo 1193 El-'AzIz ; 1198 El-Mansiir 1199 El-'Adil (Saphadin) Tomb of Imam Esh-Sha- fi'y, 1211 1218 El-Kamil Medresa of El-Kami],1224 1238 El-'Adil II 1240 Es-S5lih AyyCib Medresa and mosque oi 1249 Tilvan Shah Es-S5lih, 1242 Tombof Es-Salih, 1249 1250 1250 1257 1259 1260 1277 1279 1279 1290 1293 1294 1296 1299 MAMLUKS (BAHRY OR TURKISH Queen Shejer-ed-;darr El-Mu'izz Aybek El-Mansur 'Aly El-MuzaflFar Kutuz Ez-Zahir Beybars Es-Sa'id Baraka Khan El-'Adil SeHmish El-Mansiir Kalaua El-Ashraf Khalil En-Nasir Mohammad. (1st reign.) El-'Adil Kitbugha El-Mansiir Lagin En-Nasir Mohammad. (2nd reign.) Mosque of Ez-Zahir, 1268 Maristan and mosque of Kalaun, 1284 Portal of En - Nasir brought from Acre Restoration of mosque of Ibn-Tulun, 1296 Medresa of En-Nasir, 1299 CHllONOLOGICAL TABLE XVH liULEKS 1309 Beybars el-Gashenklr 1310 En-Niisir Mohammad. (3rd reign.) El-Mansur Abu-Bekr El-Ashraf Kuguk En-Nasir Ahmad Es-Salih Isma'Il EI-Kcamil Sha'ban El-Muzaffar Haggy En-Nasir Hasan. (1st reigu.) 1351 Es-Salih Salih 1354 En-Nasir Hasan. (-Jnd reign.) 1361 El-Man&ur Mohammad 1363 El-Ashraf Sha'baa 1377 El-Mansur 'Aly 1381 Es-Salih Haggy Monuments Eestorations of EI-Azhar. El-Hakim, tomb of Es- Srilih, Talai', etc. 1302 Khaukah of Beybars, 130G Mosque of En-Nasir in Citadel, 1318 Medresa of Sengar El- GawalyatidSa]ar,1323 Mosque of Kiisi'in, 1329 Mosque of El-Maridany, 1338 Mosque of Aksunkur, 1347, restored by Ibra- him Aga, 1652 Mosque of Sheykhii. 1355 Mosque of Suyurghat- mish, 1356 Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1358 Restoration of El-Hakim, 1369,andEl-Azhar,1360 Medresa of El-Gay El" Yiisufy, 1372 Mosque of Umm-Sha'- ban, 1368 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE MAMLUKS (BURGY OR A.D. Rulers 138 L Ez-Zahir Barki'ik 1399 En-Nasir Farag (interrui)ted by •Al)d-el-'AzIz, 1405) 1412 El-'Adil El-Musta'ni ('Abbasid Calipb) 11.12 El-Muayyad Sheykh 1421 El-MuzafPar; Ez-Zahir Tatfu- 1421 Es-Salih Mohammad 1422 El-Ashraf Bars-Bey 1438 El-'AzTz; Ez-Zahir Gakmak 1453 El-Mansiir 'Othman 1453 El-Asbra£ Jnal 14G1 El-Muayyad Ahmad 1461 Ez-Zahir Kh5shkadam 1467 Ez-Zahir Temirbugha 1468 El-Ashraf Kaft-Bey 1496 En-Nasir 1498 Ez-Zahir Kansuh 1500 El-Ashraf Ganbalat 1501 El-'Adil Tuman-Bey 1501 El-Ashraf Kansuh El-Ghury 1516 Tuman-Bey 1517 Egypt annexed by the '0th- manly Sultan Sellm I of Turkey CIRCASSIAN) Monuments Medresa of Barkiik, 1384 Tomb-mosque of Barkuk, 1405—10 Mosque of El-MuayyaJ, 1420 Medresa of El-Ashraf Bars-Bey, 1423 Tomb-mosque of El-Ash- raf Bars-Bey Mosque of Gakmak, 1453 Tomb- mosque of Inal,1456 Mosque of Kait-Bey, 1472 Tomb-mosque of Kait-Bey Mosque of Abu-Bekr ibn Mazhar, 1480 Mosque of Kigmag, 1481 Wekiilas of Kait-Bey Mosque of Ezbek El-Yii- sufy, 1495 Mosque and tomb of El- Ghiay, 1503 S. L.-P INTEODUCTION Although the conquest of Egypt by the Saracens was completed in 641, we have no Arab monument, still standing in its original form, of an earlier date than 876, During these two hundred and thirty-five years of artistic silence, Egypt was merely a province administered by a succession of governors appointed by the Omayyad and 'Abbasid Caliphs who had their seats at Damascus and Baghdad. The capital of Egypt was a provincial town, and no temporary governor, except its first conqueror,^ cared to waste * 'Amr's great mosque, founded at the conquest for the new capital called El-Fustat, 'The Tent,' after the general's Ijavilion, hay unfortunately so often fallen to ruin and been restored, that scarcely anything of the original building can be proved to remain ; and it supplies no evidence for the history of Arab art. See E. K. Corbet Bey, ' The History of the Mosque of 'Amr,' in Joiirn. R. Asiatic Societj/, vol. xxii. N.S., 1891. The only other monument prior to 876 is the mikyds or nilometer at Koda, which has a kufic inscription of the date of its restoration by the Caliph El-Mamun when he visited Egypt in 217 a.u.=832 a.d. 62 XX CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM upon it the wealth and labour necessary for great monuments. Where no monuments are built, Arab art cannot flourish : for to the Saracens architecture was the art jtar excellence, and all other branches of art were merely its hand- maidens. Sculpture, painting, carving, inlaying, glass-work, were all cultivated mainly as auxiliaries to architecture. Hence, the period of mere governors is sterile not only in architecture but in the sub- sidiary arts, and but for a number of tombs discovered among the rubbish-mounds south of Cairo we should be without any early evidence as to the origin of the Arab style. The ornament, especially in wood- carving, of these tombs, however, shows beyond doubt that in the first centuries of the Hijra the Byzantine decorative manner prevailed in Egypt among Arabs, as among Copts ; though as time went on the Muslims gave it a new development which made their architecture and all their arts individual expressions of their genius. ' In 868 Ahmad ibn Tulun, the son of a Turkish slave of Bokhara in the service of the Caliph El- Mamim, was appointed governor of Egypt, and in the following year he declared himself an inde- pendent ruler. With him begins the history of Egypt as a distinct Moham- madan Power, and his mosque — which was but One of the many splendid, but alas ! vanished, buildings with which he adorned his new faubourg ' El-Kata'i,' INTRODUCTION XXI N.E. of Fiistat — inaugurates the history of Saracenic architecture in Eg'ypt. The mosque of Ibn-Tidim, built in 876 — 878, is familiar to every visitor to Cairo. Its great court surrounded by cloisters, with deeper rows of arches at the east or Mecca side {llwdn), is a type of the earlier plan of Cairo mosques — a plan which was copied for centuries, even after other plans had come into vogue. The whole building is of plastered brick, except the curious corkscrew tower which, with some later additions, is of faced stone.' The massive piers are ornamented with engaged columns, the bases of which are imita- tions of ancient models. The capitals are campa- nulate, and the decorative foliage bears some relation to the acanthus. These and other details, such as the wavy pattern of the bordering of the arches, the mosaic plateband above the prayer-niche [milirdb), etc., point to the dominating influence of Byzantine models, and identical ornament may be seen in some of the early tomb-carvings referred to above. On ' The only minaret standing, of the two originally placed at either end of the Iitodn wall, is of brick. The larore stone tower in masonry and various architectural details appear to belong to a different period from the rest of the mosque. [Its remarkable resemblance, however, to one other monument, and one only, the corkscrew tower of Samarra, built during the Caliphs' residence there in the Ilird c. of the Hijra, justifies the belief that there was an original tower of the same form. See the woodcut of the Samnrra tower in Rich's Kurdistan, vol. ii., p. 151. — EdJ] XXll CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM the other liand, on the intrados of some of the arches, where the original ornament is still preserved, we find already in the IXth century polygonal designs mixed with true arabesques, which are not Byzantine at all, but typically Saracenic. The Tulunid dynasty, despite the promise of its birth, withered away in 86 years. A succession of thirteen governors for the Caliph again reduced Egypt for 30 years to the subordinate position of a province ; and though the Ikhshldid dynasty main- tained its independence in Egypt and Syria for 36 years more, its princes never found the settled peace and leisure necessary for the undertahing of artistic monuments ; even their tombs were at Damascus. There is not a vestige of any art during this interval. But in 969 G-dhar, the general of the FATIMIDS p.-itimicl Caliph El-Mu'izz of Kayrawan, conquered Egypt, and with the accession of the new dynasty Egypt took its place as the most powerful oriental State on the Mediterranean. The Fatimids had already been great builders at Kayrawjin, Mah- diya, and in Sicily: they did not abandon the taste when they transferred their capital to the new site of FA-Kclhira, ' the Victorious,' italianated into Cairn, which they founded immediately after the conquest. El-Kahira was originally no city but only the new Caliphs' vast fortress-palace — or rather pair of palaces — surrounded by the houses of their officers and slaves, and enclosed with massive walls. The INTROmTCTTON XXIU palaces have long vanished, but some of the gates of the walls remain in the places where they were built by Bedr El-Gemaly for the Caliph El-Mustansir in 1087 : they are the Norman-looking Bfib-en-Nasr and Bab-el-Futuh, close to the Arab Museum, and the ]>ab-Zuweyla in the Sukariya. Of the mosques of the Fatimid period (909 — 1171) there still remain the great university mosque El- Azhar ('the Splendid'), the mosque of El-Hakim (in the court of which the ^Museum has its temporary asylum) , the small mosque El-Akmar, and that of Talai' ibn Euzzik, vezir of the last Fatimid Caliph. Of these the oldest is the Azhar (971), but it has been so often restored that its original features are considerably obscured. The keel-form of the arches is characteristic of Fatimid work, though we find the pointed form on the next mosque, the ruined El-Hakim (990 — 1012), which in this and many other respects (e.g. carvings on wooden ties of piers, and of the door, see below, Passage No. I) resembles the style of Ibn-Tidun. The mosque of Talai' ibn Euzzik (1159) near the Bab-Zuweyla, shows a marked advance in decoration. The simple arabesques of El-Hakim's inscriptional friezes have here developed into rich detail which gives the effect of filigree-work. Indeed the art of arabesque oraament as seen in the ruins of this beautiful mosque has reached a perfection which is not surpassed by any later decoration in Cairo. The mosque El-Akmar in the Suk-en-NahhrisIn built by XXIV CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM the Calipli El-Amir in 1125, small and mined as it- is, lias the feature, unique among Fatimid mosques, of a fine fa9ade (unfortunately hidden by a formless erection which the Monuments Commission has vainly sought to obtain power to remove) very unlike the ordinary plain exterior of the early mosques, and deserving special notice for the shell ornament of its fluted niche, the rosette of open tracery composed of inscriptions and ornament, and the side niches, surmounted by a kufic frieze. Moreover, the angle of this mosque shows the earliest example of that mode of stalactite transition which afterwards became a chief characteristic of Saracenic architecture in Egypt. The last Fatimid Caliph was deposed by Saladin »wwr,r,,r.o (Salah-ed-dm Yusuf ibn Ayyub), who AYYUBIDS ^ JJ Jy founded the dynasty of the Ayyubids (1 172— 1250), fortified the citadel of Cairo, built his palace there (no longer existing), and enlarged the circuit of the city walls. The influence of the Crusaders, who had covered Syria with fortresses, and with whom Saladin was constantly at war, may be traced in the military architecture of his dynasty. Another influence was the return of the Government of Egypt from the Shi'ism of the Fatimids to orthodox Sunnism. In order to encourage orthodoxy, the Ayyubids founded a number of theological colleges {medvp.sa) , in which the religion of Islam, as taught by the Four Doctors, was systematically e;xpounded. INTRODUCTION XXV Tliese mcdresas are really mosques, with an open court in tlie centre, and a prayer-niche (vtihrd/j), pulpit, etc. in the eastern llwCui or sanctuary at the side towards Mecca ; but instead of cloisters round the court, the sanctuary and the three other sides are formed by arched transepts or porches, open to the court, which give a cruciform appearance to the building. In these four porches, divines expounded respectively the Shafi'ite, Malikite, Hanafite, and Hanbalite systems of Mohammadan theology. This cruciform plan afterwards became usual for small mosques, as well as for medresas, though the older cloistered form was still preserved for the great congregational mosques {gdmi') used for Friday- prayers. ' The oldest medrcsa still in existence" is that of El-Kamil, the nephew of Saladin, built in 1224, but now an utter ruin, where only the plan can just be traced. Some remains of the decoration are in the Museum (Eoom I, nos. 83—87) and serve as com- ' In El-Makrizy's Khitat, or 'Topography of Cairo,' etc., the distinction between i]\Q gdmi' (congregational mosque), mesgid (small mosque), inedrcsa, etc., is carefully observed, and so it was when Lane wrote his Modern Ecjyptlans, 183G ; but in the present day the people of Cairo call any sort of mosque a gmnl', or, roughly, gama. ^ The earliest raedresa, the Nasirlya, founded by Saladin near the mosque of 'Amr, where the Shafi'ite doctrine was taught, has disappeared. XXVI CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM plement to those of Talrd'. The college of Es-Salih, 1242, and adjoining mosque, are also ruins, but some cliaracteristic details remain : e.g. the facade with shell-ornament like El-Akmar, new stalactite forms, especially in the minaret (part of which, however, is restored), toothed borders, etc. Great progress had been made in the construction of domes, the angles of which were masked by a series of niches, as may be seen in the adjoining tomb of Es-Srdih (1249) and that of the Imam Esh-Shafi'y (1211). In the former one traces western influences, especially in the introduction of a false gorge sculptured with foilage, in the entablature of the facade. The wood-carvings of the tomb show a greater delicacy than anything we have of the Ffitimid period (even the beams of Talai') , and it is much to be regretted that we have no monuments between the two by which we could trace the growth of this branch of art, which was cultivated with peculiar success in Egypt. The sober marble panelling of Es-S/ilih's tomb also deserves notice, as contrasting with the more elaborate dados of a later epoch. With the Mamluk Sultans of the Bahry or Turkish dynasty (1250 — 1382) we enter upon the richest and most flourishing period of Saracenic MAMLUK art and architecture. ' The IMamhlks SULTANS ^ -, . -, Otter the most singular contrasts of any series of princes in the world. A band of INTRODUCTION XXVll lawless adventurers, slaves in origin, butcliers by choice, turbulent, bloodthirsty, and too often trea- cherous, these slave kings had a keen appreciation for the arts, which would have done credit to the most civilized ruler that ever sat on a constitutional throne. Their morals were indiifereut, their con- duct violent and unscrupulous, yet they show in tlieir buildings, their decoration, their dress, and tlieir furniture, a taste and refinement which it would be hard to parallel in western countries even in the present aesthetic age. It is one of the most singular facts in Eastern history, that wherever these rude Tartars penetrated, there they inspired a fresh and vivid enthusiasm for art. It was the Tartar Ibn-Tulun who built the first example of the true Saracenic mosque at Cairo ; it was the line of Mamluk Sultans, all Turkish or Circassian slaves, who filled Cairo with the most beautiful and abun- dant monuments that any city can show.' ^ There was a transitional period, at first, before the true Mamluk architectural style was formed. In the mouldings of the great mosque of Ez-Zahir Beybars (1268), the facades of Kalaun's monuments, etc., we have signs of exotic influences ; whilst the Gothic portal from a church at Acre, bodily transported to form the doorway of the medresa of En-Nasir in the Sidv-en-NahhasTn, shows alike an appreciation of * Lane-Poole, Cairo, pp. 95 — 97. XXVlll CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM foreign styles and an indifference to artistic con- sistency. But these exotic influences from Syria and elsewhere soon found their true place and became assimilated, so far as they were harmonious, in the rapidly developing Mamluk style. The long reign of over forty years (1299 — 1341) of En-Nasir Mohammad, son of Kalaun, gave time for the work of selection, adaptation, and precision, to which the admirable style of the numerous mosques erected by by En-Nasir, his sons, and the officers of his court, bears witness. The abounding energy of this pro- ductive epoch bore the happiest results for art. The hesitating experiments of the earlier period gave place to a rare distinctness of architectural conception. Despite a remarkable variety and in- comparable wealth of form and combination, the unity of design stands clearly out and reveals a finished and singularly adequate style. In the arrangement of the facade, which is now ot freestone, generally in two shades, the materials of previous centuries are developed and emphasized ; the larger surfaces are given perspective by a system of high shallow niches in which the windows are set in double rows ; these niches are brought back to the face above by stalactite cornices, and the portals, though wider and deeper, are treated in the same way and richly coated with marble. A long inscriptional frieze spreads across the fa9ade, and the top is crowned by a crenellated moulding. The INTEODUCTION XXIX general plan of the mosque is the same as in pre- vious periods, sometimes of the cloistered type with marble columns, but more commonly cruciform ; but a new importance is given to the founder's tomb, always covered by a dome, which is, indeed, the characteristic mark of a tomb-mosque.' The spring of the arches round the court is set higher than before. The joists of the wood roof are magnificently carved, painted, and gilt. The wainscots or dado are of marble mosaic, often to the height of several yards, and the pavements are tessellated in bold and striking mosaics. The rich and harmonious effect of the interior is enhanced by the panelled and inlaid pulpit [minhar], lectern {kursy el-kahf), bronze lanterns, and enamelled glass lamps. And, from the few remains that have come down to us, none unfortunately at all complete, it is clear that the palaces and private houses of the Mamluk age hardly fell short of the mosques in the beauty and elaboration of their form and decoration. The accession of the Burgy or Circassian line of MamlOks (1382 — 1517) introduced no fresh element of importance in the architecture, which continued its natural development without interruption or external interference. The mosques in the fifteenth century are more and more restricted to the cruci- form plan and become smaller, which allowed the Lane-Poole, Art of the Saracens in Egijpt, p. 60. XXX CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM central court to be covered in. A number of secondary institutions were added to the mosque and filled up tlie spaces between its porches and the streets, — such as theological colleges, public foun- tains {sehll), elementary schools [kuttdh), lavatories, and rooms for the mosque attendants. The school is an almost universal feature of Circassian Mamluk mosques, and occupies as a rule one of the most conspicuous angles of the building, where its grace- fully arched window may be seen high up. It first occurs in this position in the mosque of El-Gay el- Yusufy (1372). The founder's tomb was also given greater prominence. Instead of being relegated to a corner of the mosque, as under most of the Bahry Mamluks,it is often the principal feature, or commonly forms a separate and complete monument. Stone was more generally employed, even for internal walls, which no less than the fat/ade were covered with arabesques, geometrical designs, and kufic inscrip- tions, every inch of which is worthy of study. As the mosques of this period are smaller and more decorated than before, so the private houses are more coquettes. "^The iiiaUad on its two arches over- hangs the court, and the kd\i or salon is adorned with mosaics and a richly gilt and painted ceiling, softly lighted by the graceful mcshrchhja lattice. Many wchdlas [hUdns or caravanserais), fountains, etc., like those of Kait-Bey, are monuments of rare artistic merit. External decoration reached INTRODUCTION XXXI its liigliest point of elaboration under the Circassian Mamluks. When Egypt became in 1517 a province of the Ottoman Empire, its art took wings and departed. The 'Othmanlis imported the form of the Byzantine church, and gave a new importance to the dome, but brought no real artistic inspiration. Among the Turkish mosques may be mentioned that of Suleyman Pasha (1523), near the tomb of the saint Sariyat-el-G-ebel in the Citadel, and those of Sinan Pasha at Bulak (1571) and Malika Safiya (1610). A few mosques were still erected by Egyptians more or less after the Mamluk style ; but the tendency was in favour of buildings of less impor- tance, such as fountains, schools, caravanserais, and darwish convents. The sehils of the Turkish period especially form a notable feature in the streets, and are independent buildings, no longer subordinate to mosques. Ornament suffered an eclipse ; the rich decoration of Kait-Bey gave place to a simple and cheap manner significant of artistic and pecuniary poverty. An exception is seen in the buildings and restorations of the admirable 'Abd-er-liahman Kikhya (properly Ketkhuda), whose fountain, for example (1744), is chiefiy in the Arab style and stands far above all contemporary Turkish work, which is generally beneath contempt. It is devoutly to be wished that the political and industrial revival which was inaugurated by the illustrious founder of the XXXU CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM present dynasty, the great Mohammad 'Aly, may find its corollary in a renaissance of that artistic fertility which was once among the glories of Muslim Egypt. HERZ CATALOGUE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ARAB ART EOOM I. Stucco, Stone, and Marble Work Stucco was used iu the Arab art of Egypt from the earliest times as a material for architectural orna- ment. We find examples in the oldest extant Mo- liammadan monument, the mosque of Ibn-Tiilnn, built in A.D, 876-8, which, in spite of its thorough restoration in 1 296, retains a portion of its original stucco decoration. In the Xlllth century stucco reached its highest perfection in Cairo, when the tomb of Kalfiun and the iiiedresa or collegiate mosque of his son En-Nasir (1299) furnish admirable ex- amples of profuse decoration in this material. The stucco ornaments nos. 83-87, however, are of an earlier date, for they formed part of the framing of a window of the long-ruined mosque of the Ayyubid Sultan El-Kamil, nephew of Saladin, which was built in ] 224, and of which, according to the late James Wild, two sides were still standing in 1845 B 2 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM and displayed ornament wliich resembled that of the Alhambra/ These fragments, nos. 83-87, show ns how the plaster was worked. We see at once that the design was cut in the solid block and that the decoration is in two distinct planes : the orna- ment of the first plane was finished first, and then the parts in relief were added in a second layer. Stucco decoration was used at all periods, even when sculptured stone held the first place : compare the kufic frieze of the stateliest of Cairo mosques, that of Sultan Hasan (1358), and the beautiful ornament of the dome of Aksunkur (1347) in the Darb-el-Ahmar. In the second half of the XVth century stucco was less popular than stone, but the Kubbet el-FidclwTya in the suburb of 'Abbasiya, which belongs to this period, shows, by the profuse stucco ornamentation of the whole of the interior to the very apex of the dome, that the art had not been lost or degraded, and that the method of cutting out the designs was the same as in earlier times. Stucco was also used for filling in windows, in two ways : the first and more ancient is the claire- voie or open tracery window cut out of a thick layer of plaster, often with very happy effect, in a great variety of designs. This method was used until the close of the Xlllth century. Examples ' Lane-Poole, Art of the Saracemt, p. 53. There is no doubt that the internal decoration of the tomb-mosque of Kalaun and a window in the south arcades of the mosque of El-Muayyad bear a striking resemblance to Moorish ornament. STUrrO, STONE, AND MARBLE WORK '3 may be seen in the mosques of Ibn-Tulun' and El- Hakim, and the ruined but magnificent mosque of Ez-Zahir Beybars, where remains of richly designed tracery still stand out here and there in the roughly blocked-up bays. The Maristan (hospital) of Kalaiin has also some fine and well-preserved gratings of cut plaster. This kind was used to fill the window- bays of mosques of the cloistered style ; or, when mosques were entirely closed-in (as the Maristan or those of Kfiit-Bey etc.) they served to protect the glazed windows proper, which were inside. These glazed windows [hamarhja 'moonlights' or shemslya ' sunlights ') are not found before the second half of the Xlllth c, and are of two kinds. In the earlier kind (say 1250-1330), after the design was cut in the plaster, the pieces of thick coloured glass were laid on the face so as to cover the holes, and were fixed in their places by little rims of plaster which followed the lines of the pattern. Examples may be seen at the tombs of Es-Salih and KalaCm and the sepul- chral mosque of Sengar el-Gawaly (1323). In the later style of hamar'aja, of the XlVth and XVth c, the little rims are omitted, and the glass is fixed to the back of the stucco by pouring a coat of liquid plaster between the pieces of glass. There are examples in the medresa of Barkuk in the Siik-en- Nahhasm (1384), in buildings of the epoch of Kait- 1 Probably not of the date of the foundation, but of the restoration in 1296 : they are too bold and decided to belong to the earlier date ; but they undoubtedly replaced older stucco gratings. B 2 4 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Bey (end of XVtli c), the mosques of Abu-Bekr ibn Mazhar, Kigmas el-Isliaky, etc. The glass of these later windows is sometimes extremely thin. The kamarlya of recent centuries will not bear comparison with the older specimens : the designs become poor, the execution coarse, and the colours (which had then to be imported, for lack of local materials) thin and inharmonious. Freestone was not generally employed by the Sara- cenic architects of Egypt, in place of brick or rubble, till a rather late date, notwithstanding the examples set before their eyes in the stone buildings of the ancient Egyptians. It is true that the Palace of the Fatimid Caliph El-Mu'izz, begun in 970, is stated to have had walls constructed of stones ' so well joined that one would think they were made in a single block,' ' and the three city gates, the Bab-el- Futuh, Bab-en-Nasr, and Bab-Zuweyla (1087-91) are splendid examples of stone masonry ; but all the mosques up to the Xllth c. are built of brick." The first stone mosque is that called El-Akmar,^ in the Siik-en-NahhasIn, built in 1125 by the Fatimid Caliph El- Amir ; and here only the facade is of stone, 1 Nasir-i-Khusrau (a.d. 1040), Sefer Nameh, transl. Ch. Schefer, p. 129. - The stone base of the dome in the court of Ibn-Tiilun's mosque dates only from the restoration by Lagin in 1296, as its inscription states. So do, in all probability, the minaret and the adjacent cloister, which are also of stone. ^ See the 6th Annual Report of the Commission for the Preservation of the Monuments of Arab Art, 67th rapport, where I have given a plan of the mosque EUAkmar. STUCCO, STONE, AND MARBLE WORK O the arches inside are of brick resting on marble columns. But the stone-work is admirably executed, the shaping accurate, the joining exact, and the sculpture of ornament and inscription very skilful. Evidently this was not a first attempt, though it is the earliest known to us. It leads the way for a series of similar buildings with stone facades and brick interiors, which prevailed till nearly the end of the Xlllth c, when brick was generally aban- doned in favour of stone, laid with wide joints, and roughened to receive the mortar. Before 1330 bricks were almost exclusively used for minarets. The sumptuous monument of Kalaun, which combined mosque, tomb, and hospital, furnishes the first example of a stone tower. ^ Thenceforward stone minarets increased until they became almost universal under the Circassian Mamluks, when stone was everywhere the favourite material for all parts of buildings, and it becomes evident that the archi- tect has mastered the most difficult problems of con- struction. This development of constructive skill came to its perfection in time to assist the decora- tive spirit of the Circassian period, and exquisite arabesques admirably executed in stone are lavished upon the monuments. At the same time the dome, which had hitherto been coated with stucco, a frail material for ornament, is also constructed of stone. ' El-Makrizy says that the minaret of Akbugha (1331) was the first to be built in stone, after that of Kalaiin. — Khitat, ii., p. 384. 6 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM and becomes a subject for elaborate decoration. The earliest stone domes, those of the tomb-mosque (1405-1410) of Barkuk, the first Circassian Mamluk, in the Eastern Cemetery, are ornamented with zig- zags. Immediately afterwards other domes are covered with graceful arabesques, which make one forget the hard material out of which they airily spring. Presently, different coloured stones began to be chosen to aid in decoration, and by such variegation a sort of large mosaic was formed over a considerable part of the edifice, and eventually, not the gateways only, but the entire fa9ade was treated in this fashion.' The first mosque, we believe, in which strata of different coloured stone were employed, was that of Ez-Zahir Beybars, where the gateways are of stone of two alternating colours. Stone was not used merely in construction, but also for tombs, pulpits (minbar), tribunes (dil-Jca), etc., of which no more exquisite example can be cited than the minbar of white gritstone with which Kait-Bey endowed the tomb-mosque of Barkuk ; it is a perfect gem of Arab ornament. Egypt possesses a considerable variety of stones suitable for building,- but the Arabs, instead of ^ The vile practice of distempering the walls and fa9ades of mosques in red and white stripes is a coarse attempt to revive the effect of varied stone courses. Every effort is being made by the Commission to suppress this crude imitation. - See the collection in the School of Medicine at Cairo. J STUCCO, STONE, AND MARBLE AVOliK / going to the trouble of extracting their own materials from the quarries, preferred to rob the buildings of their predecessors ; one often sees hieroglyphics on an outer wall of a mosque, whilst columns, capitals, lintels, etc., from demolished Graeco-Eoman build- ings, abound. The stone used in the best Arab period is a white limestone, of a close substance, which takes a greyish tone with age ; or else a yellowish nummulite stone, too porous for the finest sculpture. The latter has been almost exclusively employed during the Turkish period. Marble was used at all periods by the Arabs, but especially in the early days of their occupation of Egypt for tombstones {shdh'd), many of which, en- graved (sometimes in relief) with pious formulas, the name of the deceased, and the date of death, in kufic characters, have been found in the sandy tract about 'Ayn es-Sira to the south of Cairo. They date chiefly from the IXth c, but some go back earlier. A great many ancient tombstones have also been brought from the old Mohammadan cemetery near Aswan. Egypt is poor in marble, and the backs of these headstones often show that they were taken from older Greek, Eoman, or Coptic monuments. Such spoliation was very common : we find a Koman eagle on a capital in the Citadel mosque of En-Nasir, a cross and crown on another in the mosque of El- Muayyad, and Byzantine columns on either side of the niche [milirdh) of the mosque of Ibn-Tfilfm — though this prince put himself to great pains to procure original materials and generally eschewed 8 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM spoliation on principle. Others were less scrupulous, and cargoes of marble were brought from ruined cities of Syria, whilst the gothic gateway of the medresa of En-Nasir, in the Suk-en-Nahhasm, was ravished from Acre in 1291 by Khalil. This habit of spoliation was injurious to the growth of Arab style, especially as to columns, which were generally borrowed ; and, except the vase-shaped capitals (called TiuUa, after the earthen water-bottles of the same name), no true Arab capital appears till the characteristic stalactite form was introduced at a late date," Marble was not generally employed till the Xlllth c, when it began to be used for veneering, especially on portals. When sculptured the work is naturally finer than on coarser stone ; but the most beautiful decorative effects in marble are seen in mural mosaics and tesselated pavements. The monaics were either formed of pieces of coloured marbles set in a mortar bed, or various small pieces were in- laid in the solid slab which formed the groundwork. When the outlines of the space to be inlaid were too complicated to be filled without needless labour in cutting the marble, the designs were filled in with a resinous composition, generally red or black. Many magnificent examples of mosaic may be seen in the mosques. The Museum possesses a fine series of richly sculptured marble vessels (nos. 34, 35, 110, etc.). The earliest occur in the Medreaa of Barkiik, I'Sbi. STUCCO, STONE, AND MAKBLE WORK 9 KOOM I. 1. Marble slab inscribed 'In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.' l O-.jo' 2. Marble slab, inscribed with name of God in relief. L 016 3. Grey marble fragment, with Icalimn ' There is no deity but God ' in relief, h 0'34 4. Portion of marble slab, inscribed and originally painted. (From a tomb.) h u18 5. 6. Fragments of white marble tombstones Avith kufic inscriptions. (From cemetery of Imam Esh-Shafi'y.) H 0-58, 0-52 7, 8. Limestone inscribed with kufic characters. (Mosque of El-Hakim, circ. a.d. 1000.) w 0-;5.^ 9. Marble slab, l 0-35 10. Marble medallion commemorating foundation of a mosque in 817 a.h. (1414). d 0-26 11. Marble slab, inscribed with name of Ahmad es- Sabt and date 1181 a.h. (a.d. 1767. Mosque of Sinan Pasha at Biilak). L 0-6o 12. Marble fragment of tombstone with kufic in- scription. (Cemetery of Esh-Shafi'y.) h o-:{8 13. Marble slab with inscription and ornaments in relief. L 0o2 14. Fragment of marble tombstone inscribed with kufic characters. (Cem, of Esh-ShAfi'y.) L 0-27 15. Marble fragment with naskhy inscription, l 0-22 16. Marble slab of a fountain [sehehll),'^ sculptured. H 1-35 ' The dimensions are given in metres and centimetres. D = diameter, H = height, L = length, VV = width. The mosques, streets, etc., mentioned are in Cairo, unless other- wise stated. Dat' s are a.d. unless stated to be a.h. The colour of marble is white unless otherwise described. - Such slabs were net in the public street-fountains to cool the water which flowed over them. 10 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room 1. 17. Part of a sculptured and painted marble slab. L 0-28 18. Sculptured marble slab, witb traces of colour. (Mosque of El-Mciridany, 1338.) L 0-69 i.9. Sculptured slab from a prayer-niche (niihrdh), representing a hanging lamp (inscribed ' God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth") between two candles, on an arabesque ground. (Medresa El-Budeyriya, in the Salihiya quarter, i357.) H 0-61 20. Fragment of grey marble border; the sunk ornaments were formerly filled with resinous paste. L 070 21. Fragment of marble border, l 070 22. Angle of framing in sculptured greyish marble. L 0-16 23. Two marble octagonal shafts of columns from a mihrdb, sculptured on alternate faces with geo- metrical and foliate designs, (x c.) H 1-82, 2-Ou 24. Two conglomerate shafts of i/nhrdh columns, cut in facets. (Mosque of Haydar Shawish at Mansura.) h 200 25. 26. Marble border, with symmetrical designs, incrusted with red and black resinous paste. (Fountain of Kait-Bey in the Saliba quarter, end of XV c.) l 0-65, 0-34 27, 28. Fragments of marble incrusted with red and black stone, l 0-30, 0-2-i 29, 30. Fragments of marble sculptured with orna- ments originally coated with stucco, l 0"22 31. Marble slab of a street fountain, with arabesque ornament and border of finely sculptured ani- mals. (Street-fountain, sehiJ, of Farag in front of the Bab-Zuweyla : beginning of xv c.) h I'Sl ' Koran xxiv, 36. See below, p. 37. STUCCO, STONE, AND MARBLE -SVOKK 11 KoOM I. 32. Marble stand for jar, sculptured with orna- ments, nearly effaced. (Mosque of Kait-Bey, 1472). L O-So 33. Marble stand for jar, made out of the base of a column, resting on four feet, and covered with kufic inscriptions and ornaments. (Mosque of ' Saghry Wardy ' (Taghry Berdy) in the Saliba, 1440.) L 0-35 34. Maeble Jar placed on 108. Marble Stand 34. Two-handled marble jar covered with arab- esques, kufic inscription on ueck, fish on base. 12 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room I. (Medresa of El-HigazTya, daugliter of En-Nasir. xiv c.)^ H (inside) 070 35. Two-handled marble jar, ribbed. (Mosque of Umm-el-Grhulam, 1254.) h (inside) 070 36. Fragment of marble border, with gilt ornament. L 0-68 37. Slab of grey marble covered witli arabesques. H 1-34 38. Mouth of a well formed of a marble Byzantine capital. (Mosque of Zeyn-ed-dm, in the Darb- el-Gemamiz.) H 0-30 39. Tombstone (shdhid) inscribed with name of Nabll Bey and date 1235 a.h. (1819). h 0-98 40. Two serpentine columns of a mihrdh, with ribbed shafts, and a cross cut on the capital. (Mosque of Kfisun es-Saky, now almost destroyed, 1329.) H 2-.50 41. Marble tombstone with kufic inscription stating that it was erected by order of El-Hafiz-li-dlni- llah (the Fatimid cal'iph, 1130-1149). H 0-82 42. Marble slab inscribed with name El-Kawamy El-Husamy. (H5sh el-Waly, in cem. of Esh- Shafi'y.) L 073 43. Limestone front of a tomb, with ornaments, and date 809 a.h. (1406). L 0-90 44. Tombstone of reddish sandstone inscribed with kufic characters, (x c.) h 0-44 45. Corner of limestone coving, sculptured with foliage surrounding a spread eagle. (Possibly of the Fatimid epoch. Found in the quarter of the Bab-esh-Sha'rIya.) L 0-9.5 46. Fragment of marble with naskhy inscription. L 0-43 ' According to Prisse d'Avennes, these jars were reserved in the mosques for the religious ablutions of special personages. STUCCO, STONE, AND MARBLE WORK lo Room I. 47 — 50. Serpentine tombstones with kufic inscrip- tions, dated 4G5, 459, 589, 429 a.h. (a.d. 1087- 1198. From Kos, in Upper Egypt.) h o-47, 0-60, 0-60, 070 51 — 58. Diorite tombstones, inscribed, and dated 443 (1051), 590 (1194), 567 (1171); no. 52 in naskliy, the others in kniic. h 0-90, 0-72, 0-85 54. Mnral mosaic of red and black stone, mother-of- pearl, and tnrqnoise enamel. (Mosque of Kusun, 1829.) 55, 56. Marble Byzantine capitals, one sculptured with cross. (Mosque of Kusun,1329.) h 0-34 ,0-31 57. Marble slab sculptured with arabesques, l 0"51 58, 59. Marble fragments from a tomb. Modern. 60, 61. Marble Byzantine capital. (Mosque of Ku- sun, 1329.) H 0-40 02. Marble tombstone inscribed in kufic with name of Hasan ibn Hoseyn and date 462 a.h. (1069). H 0-64 68. Marble base of a column, sculptured. (Mosque of IMurad Pasha.) H (•■4o 64. Marble tombstone with kufic inscription dated 262 A.H. (875). H 0-68 65, 6G. Two Corinthian capitals (one side plain) in reddish stone, with traces of gilding. (Mosque of Kiisun, 1829.) h o-;!8 67, 68. Eed and green porphyry, from a dado. L 0-34, 0-31 69. Black stone inlaid with characters in white marble, l 0-36 70. Fragment of marble tombstone, with kufic in- scription, dated at the end of iii c. a.h. l 0-38 71. 72. Slabs of marble engraved with armorial bearings, a spread eagle, and a goblet. (Bath of Aisha el-Hammamiya in the Darb-el-Gema- mlz, now demolished.) L 0-40 14 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room I. 73 — 75. Keystones in black and red stone and white marble, l 010 76. Marble vase, open-work, h 0-23 77, 78. Fragments of inscribed marble. l 0-13, 0-25 79. White stone, shaped to resemble three plates joined together. (From debris in mosque of Ibn-TCilun, 876-8.) l 0-30 80. Fragment of marble slab with kufic inscription commemorating the foundation of the mosque of Ibn-Tulun in 876 A.D.' l 0-27 81. Marble slab with kufic inscription, l 020 82. Sculptured marble. (Mosque of El-Maridany, 1338.) L 0-12 83 — 87. Five stucco fragments carved with kufic letters. (Framing of window in ruined medresa of El-Kamil, 1224.) 88. Marble fragment with kufic inscription, xvi c. L 0-27 89. Piece of mural mosaic in white marble and black, red, and yellow stone, h 0-29 90. Portion of marble slab with kufic inscription. (Cemetery of 'Amr at Masr el-'Atika.) l 0-29 91. Fragment of veined marble, l 0-19 92. Fragment of sculptured marble, l OlS 93. Cast bronze octagonal lantern {tannur) for 110 lamps, in open-work, chased with ornaments and inscriptions, giving name of Sultan Hasan. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1358.) h 2-00 94. Three coloured glass and stucco window-lights {hamariya). Modern. H 0'92 ^ Another similar piece is now fixed in the llioan or sanctuary oE the mosque, where it was found during rei3airs five years ago. STUCCO, STONE, AND MARBLE WORK 15 Room I. 05. Part of marble frieze sculptured with ornaments, xviii c. L 0-22 96. Three coloured glass window-lights. (Demol- ished cupola near the tomb of the Imam Esh- Shafi'y.) L 0-32 97. Limestone bas-relief, a lion clutching a gazelle. (Modern.) l 075 98. Marble stand for jar, with fonr feet, sculptured with ornaments, mythical animals, and kufic inscription, h 0-47 99. Inscribed marble slab. (Given by M. Pugioli.) L 0-4.5 100. Marble tombstone with kufic inscription in relief, h 0-67 101. Dark syenite tombstone with naskhy inscrip- tion, in form of a ynihrdh, giving name of Sheykh Abu-1-Hoseyn 'Aly ibn Absa, and date of death 637 A.H, (1239), with name of sculptor — 'Made by Mohammad ibn el-Hclgg Ahmad.' h 059 102. Curved piece of limestone, carved with floral ornament, on a gilt ground, h 0'34 103. Serpentine tombstone of Ya'kub ibn Ibrahim el-Marazy. l 022 104. Marble fragment with kufic inscriptions on both sides. (Given by Dr. Schweinfurth.) L 0-68 105. Limestone vase with four heads of geese. (Modern; given by Dr. Schweinfurth.) d 015 106. Plate in limestone. (Modern ; given by Dr. Schweinfurth.) d 015 107. Marble stand (keh/d), sculptured with orna- ments and kufic inscription. (Mosque of Makla-Bey Taz.) h 014 108. Marble stand ornamented with mythical ani- mals with human faces, etc. (Mosque of Zeyn- ed-dln, in the Darb-el-Gemamiz.) h 043 16 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room T. 109. Marble stand, on four feet, with kufic inscr. in relief (nearly obliterated), and engaged pilasters at the sides. H 0-42 110. Marble jar. (Mosque of Sagbry Wardy.) H 060 111. Marble jar, witb grey veins. (Zawiya of Seyf- el-Yazal.) h 060 112. Marble centre of fountain, with kufic inscrip- tions on sides, d 0-49 113. 114. Angle of a tomb, engraved with ornaments and kufic and naskhy inscriptions richly sculp- tured. H 0-92 115, 116. Marble shafts of columns. (Niche of sehil of Kait-Bey, near El-Azhar. End of XV c.) H 1-69, 0-69 117, 118. Bases of preceding, h 019 119. Limestone sundial. L U-.59 120. Marble sandial, dated 1163 a.h. (1749). l 0-9.5 121. Marble slab engraved with kufic inscr. on one side, and naskhy on the other, w O'.X* 122. Coloured glass and stucco window. (Modern.) H 0-89 123. Marble Corinthian capital, h 0-:!9 124. Marble slab engraved with naskhy inscriptions. (Medi-esa of Barkuk, in the Suk-en-NahhasIn.) L 0-30 125. Grey marble jar. h 066 126. Marble jar with three handles, h 066 127. 128. Two marble jars, inscribed ' Our lord the Sultan el-Melik el-Ashraf Abu-n-Nasr Kait- Bey (exalted be his glory) bestowed this jar (zlr) for this blessed fountain on account of Mohammad and his family.' (End of xv c.) H 0-53, 0-61 129. Marble angle of a tomb with inscriptions and ornaments in relief. (Mosque of El-Chirkesy, in the Beyn-e8-Siy»>/., ji. 16J. 3 Khitat, ii., p. 105. 2 20 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM there was a ' Market of Inlayers ' (Sfik-el-Keftlyin) at Cairo, and that richly chased objects, such as a d'tlika or settle, inlaid with silver and gold, after the manner of our table, formed a prominent feature in wedding gifts. One of them belonging to Sitt-el- '.^bnaim (' Lady of the Turbans '), a merchant's daughter, was so richly decorated that her betrothed gave her 100,000 dirhems (francs) merely to repair it. This passion for costly inlay had already vanished in El-Makrizy's day (he died in 1441), and only a small number of inlayers then plied their trade.' The value which the owners placed upon such possessions may be inferred from the fact that they often had their names engraved upon them, and one sometimes finds a series of successive proprietors' names on a single dish or bowl. The metals employed were copper and its various alloys, which can only be distinguished by chemical tests. The objects include large caldrons, coffers, tables, bowls, censers, candelabra, lamps, bosses and plating on doors, etc. The last are most readily dated and ascribed to Cairo workers, and some which have been found in the mosques are now in the Museum. The oldest are the folding doors (Annex I, no. 9) from the mosque of Es-Salih Talai' b. Ruzzik, built a.h. 555 (1160), which are covered with starlike polygonal designs in cast bronze on a thin surface of brass." Here the cast- ' S. Lane-Poole, op. at., pp. 165-167. - The mosque, which still stands opposite the Bab- Zuweyla, though in a ruined state, was restored after the METAL-WORK 21 ings are plain ; but others are engraved with very graceful designs, as on the doors which came from the medresa of Tatar el-HigazTya, granddaughter of Kalafm, founded in 761 a.h. (1359). To about the same time (1362) belongs the door of the tomb of Sultan Hasan, with its delicate inlay of gold and silver. The two leaves of the medresa of Barkuk, with bronze foliage coated with silver, and those of El- Ghury, show that the art was still pursued with undiminished skill under the Circassian Mamliiks, The various lamps and lanterns or chandeliers in the Museum, of the XlVth c. and XVth c, are con- structed in tiers to carry numerous little oil lamps, which were prevented from dripping upon the worshippers by a tray (like no. 107 in Eoom II) hung beneath, which also concealed the unattractive interior. The tray in question is partly in repousse work, chased with decoration of the latest Mamluk style ; for it comes from the mosque of El-GhCiry, founded in 1503. The gratings, especially those which closed the windows of f^ebils (street drinking- fountains), were also subjects for decoration, and their knobs were often engraved with the name of Allah or the arms of the founder ; for heraldic devices were much in vogue in the XVth c. Nothing in the way of metal-work, however, surpasses for taste or skill the kursis already mentioned, or the little book-box (no. 57), with its delicate designs earthquake of 1302 by Seyf-ed-dln Bektemir ; but the doors are of the Fatimid style, and must have belonged to the original liuilding. 22 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM and enchanting kufic border, whicli still show traces of the gold inlay which was reserved for the finest class of work. After the X\T;th c, bronze fell out of vogue ; it was no lono;er used for the doors of mosques or other public buildings, and although gratings were still made of it, they were no longer skilfully fitted together, but were cast in a single piece. About the second half of the XVIIIth c, western influences begin to intrude in the designs. Besides bronze, the Arab smith worked in iron, Nasir-i-Khusrau mentions the iron-plated doors of the Haram at Jerusalem, and also the massive iron doors of El-Mahdiya in Tunis. In Egypt, iron was not in great demand for artistic purposes, but one may cite the forged iron gratings in certain mosques, especially in that of En-Nasir in the Citadel, which attracted the attention of El-Makrlzy. Iron nails arranged in effective patterns were sometimes used to decorate the doors of mosques (see nos. 10, 50, in Passage) and some of the old gates of the city quarters, which were formerly closed at night. Unfortunately, the Museum possesses no speci- mens of Saracenic arms or armour. There was once an Armourers' Market in the Beyn-el-Kasreyn, opposite where Kalaun's tomb now stands. The present Armourers' Market (Suk-es-Silah) is near the mosque of Sultan Hasan, but it has not inherited the reputation of its predecessor. II. 12. Inlaid Silver and Brass Kursy. ■ XTVth century [To/ftcf p. 23 M-ETAL-WORK 23 Room IT. 1. Brass candlestick of mosque, engraved with inscriptions. (From the Citadel.) h (rS7 2. Brass candlestick, with traces of silver inlay, engraved with inscription in the name of the Mamliik Snltan Husam-ed-dln LfigTn, who pre- sented it to the mosque of Ibn-Tfilun, when he restored it in 1296. H 0-41 8. Part of a copper vessel engraved with ornaments and inscriptions in name of a certain mamluk of En-Nfisir. xiv c. ? H OlS 4. Covered vessel (lamp ?) in copper, with repousse- ornament, and inscription in name of Sultan Hasan. (From his mosque, 1358.) h, with cover, 0-44 5. Base of a crescent, hilil (formerly surmounting a dome), engraved with ornaments and inscrip- tions in praise of a Sultan, h 0-:50 6. Upper part of a vase, edged with ornaments and inscriptions. (Medresa of Barknk, 1384.) H 0-19 7. Part of a copper vessel engraved with ornaments and inscriptions bearing Mamluk name, xiv c. H 0-3:] 8. Fragment of a copper vessel with ornaments and inscriptions. (Medresa of Barkuk.) h 0-14 9. Copper goblet-shaped vessel with ornaments and inscriptions. H 0-40 10. Cup {tds) engraved with verses, h 0-:17 11. Brass vessel engraved with inscriptions, h 0-3.3 12. Brass l-iirsi/ (table) of open-work, richly chased and inlaid with silver. (Medresa of En-Nasir, 1299.) H 070 13. BrsLSS Jcuvsy : the sides are divided into panels by borders of naskhy inscriptions in silver inlay in honour of Sultan En-Nasir Mohammad ; the panels are of filigree work, chased with 24 CATALOGUE OF THE AEAB MUSEUM Room II. arabesques and inscriptions partly inlaid with silver ; in the centre of the top is a rosette formed by a kufic inscription, and in various places are representations of ducks in silver inlay ; one of the panels forms a folding door through which a pan of live charcoal was doubtless introduced to keep the tray of food warm.^ xiv c. (Maristan of Kalaiin.) h 0-82 14. Two fragments of brass plates, engraved with inscriptions (traces of silver inlay), with, on three sides, a frame of chased filigree work in copper, cast. (Tomb-mosque of Barkuk, 1405 — 1410.) L 0-39, 0-41 15. 15a. Two pieces of cast-brass bordering from a door, fleur-de-lis filigree work, l 0-24, O-ol 16. Brass tray of mosque lantern, in repousse work, chased with animals and inscriptions. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1358.) d 0-7.5 17 — 20. Four brass plates engraved with ornaments. (Door of tomb-mosque of El-Ghury, 1503.) L 0-34, 0-27, 0-27, U-34 21. Angle of brass panel with engraved and repousse ornament. L 024 22. Brass plate engraved with decorative interlaced kufic inscription on arabesque ground. L 1'04 23. Fragment of brass plate with inscriptions giving name of En-Nasir Mohammad, xiv c. l 0-21 24^ 25. Two brass door-plates, engraved with orna- ments and inscriptions in honour of a Sultan. XV c. ? L 1-31 26 — 31. Six brass door-plates engraved with orna- ments and inscriptions, commemorating the foundation of the mosque of Ezbek el-Yusufy See S. Lane-Poole, Art of the Saracens, p. METAL-WOEK 25 Room IT. Ras-nawbat-en-nawc'ib (commander of the royal guard), A.H. 900 (1495), still standing in the quarter of the Birket-el-Fil. L 0-85, 0-86, 0-69, 0-8-i, 0-39, 070 32 — 48. Seventeen chased brass door-plates. (From the XV c. mosque, at right of the Musky, but now demolished, of Ezbek ibn Tutush [not to be confounded with Ezbek el-Yiisufy above mentioned], who was Atabeg el-Asakir or com- mander-in-chief, and gave his name to the Ezbekiya quarter.) L 0-65, 0-61, VSr,, 070, 0r4, 1-28, 1-16, 1-30, 1-02, 1-00, 0-64, 0-.^8, 0-.58, O'Q-i, 0V>, 0-40, 0-46. (No. 45 retains some of its nail-heads.) 49, 50. Two brass squares in chased filigree work, from a door. L 0"13 51 — 53. Three pieces of squares like preceding. L 0-13, 0-44, 0-44 54, 55. Two cast-brass knockers engraved with orna- ments. L 0-34 56. Iron lance found in the mosque of El-Ghiiry. L 070 57. Koran-case of wood, plated with brass, richly chased and inlaid with silver and traces of gold on a ground of black paste ; the inscriptions give neither name nor date. (Tomb-mosque of El-Ghury, 1503.) L 0-44, h 0-28 58. Wooden lock {dahha) plated with chased and repousse, silver. (Tomb of Seyyid 'Abd-el-Al, at Tanta.) l 0-21 59. Wooden lock, similar to preceding. (From Mansura.) L 0-17 60. Wooden lock, plated with silver, with repousse ornaments and inscriptions, (Mosque of Seyyida Zeyneb.) l 0-26 61. 62. Two silver gilt balls engraved with name of 'Othmanly Sultan Mustafa ibn Mohammad and 26 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room II. dated 1032 a.h. (1623). (Tomb of Seyyid El- Bedawy at Tanta.) d 0'24 63, 64. Brass ewers coated with mother-of-pearl. H 018 65. Three silver anklets {Wmlhhfd). (From a tomb in Upper Egypt.) 66. Twenty-four iron arrows, found in the wooden roofing of the Ghurlya street. (When this roofing was removed in 1882 the beams and planks were found to be riddled with arrows.) 67. Coins (four gold) found during the demolition of houses in the Ghuriya. 68. Lower part of a brass crescent engraved with Mamluk inscriptions and ornaments. H 0-2(> 69. Upper part of a copper vessel engraved with Mamluk inscriptions, ornaments, and medallions containing heraldic arms, a lozenge, h O-^o 70. Turban-support from a tomb, copper. (Tomb of Seyyid El-Bedawy at Tanta.) H 0-22 71. Copper plate with repousse inscriptions bearing name of Sultan Lagin. (From a door near the mihrah of the Mosque of Ibn-Tulun, restored by LagIn in 1296.) l ]-4u 72. Copper coins found in a demolished house in the Ghurlya. 73. Two cast and turned brass candlesticks, h 0"44 74. Two turned wooden candlesticks with plates of tin : rude work, h 0-35 75. 76. Cast-brass candlestick, h 0-21, 0-:38 77. Cast-brass candlestick with perforated tray. H 0-W 78. Part of cast-brass lamp, d 0-2(> 79. Cast-brass candlestick with perforated tray. H 0-41 80. Upper part of a four-branched brass candlestick. H 0-25 METAL-WORK 27 Room IT. 81. Brass suspenders for oil-lamps (four of the lower eight missing). 82. Tin suspender for 20 branches of oil-lamps. 83. 84. Copper tray with four candlesticks, d 034 85. Brass tray with three candlesticks, l 0-26 86. Twenty-one cast and perforated brass trays (and two pieces) for suspension of oil-lamps, in two patterns, d 046 87. Three turned cast-brass students' lamps, h 072 —078 88. Brass filigree lamps. (Mosque of Seyyid El- Bedawy at Tanta.) D 0-22 89. Five cast-brass cups from a street fountain. H 0-11 90. Six cast-brass cups with inscriptions in name of the 'Othmanlv Sultan Mahmnd I and dated 1164 A.H. (1 750). (Sebll of SultAn Mustafa III, built in 1760, opposite the mosque of Seyyida Zeyneb.) H 0-l3 91. Two knockers of cast-brass filigree work. L 0-2:5 92. Brass knocker, richly chased, d 0-2;] 93. Brass anvil of knocker. H Oil 94. Brass knocker, perforated and chased with ornaments, with traces of armorial bearings in central disc. L 0"2^j 95. 96. Lattice-work of brass wire from a window. D 072 97. Shield with iron centre-plate, (Mosque of El- Ghury, 1503.) d 047 98. Fifteen brass chains for suspending lamps. 99 — 101. Upper parts of copper crescents, h 1'63, 0-65, 0-80 102, 103. Copper crescent (traces of gilding on 103). H 071, »c8n 104, 105. Parts of copper crescents, h 0-r^3, 0-36 28 CATALOGUE OP THE ARAB MUSEUM Room II. 106. Brass crescent with plates engraved with in- scriptions on both sides. (Mosque of SultAn Hasan, 1358.) h u:J4 107. Brass lantern of 160 lights with four turrets, and tray below, in open and repousse work, engraved with ornaments and inscriptions. (Medresa of El-Ghury, 1503.) h 2-60 108. Brass lantern, for seven lights ; upper part dome - shaped, engraved with inscriptions. (Mosque of Seyyida Zeynab, 1760.) d u-38 109. Brass lantern, like preceding, but dome of open work. (Mosque of Seyyid El-Bedawy at Tanta.) d 0-32 110. Brass lantern, shaped like hexagonal cone, for seven lights, and nine branches, engraved with ornaments, and inscriptions in the name of Kigmas AmTr-Akhur (Master of the Horse, to Kait-Bey), whose arms appear on a medallion in the centre of each side : on a fess, a cup inscribed with hieroglyphic characters, sup- ported on either side by a cornucopiae ; in chief, a lozenge; in base, a small cup. (Pro- bably from mosque of Kigmas, built «86 a.h., 1481, at the entrance of the Darb-el-Ahmar, and now in process of restoration.) h I'lO 111. Copper tray of lantern, with medallions con- taining inscription in honour of a Sultan. 112. Eight pieces of perforated and chased cast- bronze. (Doors of Medresa of Barkuk, 1384.) L 0-24 — 0-60 113. Copper vessel (lamp?) with three handles. H 0-41 114. Two pieces of copper plating of a casket, chased with ornaments and inscriptions and inlaid with gold and silver. (Medresa of Barkuk.) L 0-33 METAL- WORK 29 RouJi II. 115. Tongue of iron lock. (Medresa of Barkuk.) L 0-85 116. Ten stucco and coloured glass window-lights. (Modern.) h 0-5-2— r:.:. 117. Brass tray of lantern engraved with inscrip- tions and ornaments. D 078 118. Cast-brass candlestick, h 0-63 119. Iron tongs. (Mosque of El-Ghury.) l u;U 120. Copper octagonal lantern with perforated brass sides, for eight lights. L 0o4 30 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM EOOM III. Glass The earliest specimens of Arab glass are the little discs used for weights (found in great numbers in the rubbish-mounds round Cairo), of which dated specimens exist from the first century of the Hijra.' Niisir-i-Khusrau mentions a ' Market of Lamps ' (Siik-el-Kanadil) close to the Mosque of 'Amr, and refers to the admirable glass-work of Egypt," No. 1 in Koom III, which we owe to Dr. Fouquet, the well- known Cairo physician, illustrates the varieties of beads and enamel found in the Cairo mounds. But the chief glory of Arab glass-work in Egypt is repre- sented by the collection of over sixty enamelled glass lamps in the Museum, which, despite air- bubbles, bear witness to the skill of the artists in the variety of the decoration, the grace of the inscriptions, the finish of the work, and the colouring of the enamels. These glass lamps are always of * See S. Lane-Poole, Catalogue of Arabic Glass Weight.i\^ 'His excellency, the noble, mighty [mamlrdv] of the lord the Sultan El-Melik el-Ashraf Nnsir-ed-dunya wa-d-din Sha'ban,' - xiv c. H ()-:'.t:i 14. Lamp of plain glass decorated on neck after the manner of no. 13. The letters are drawn on the glass with a border of red lines, and the panels have a blue ground applied inside. The inscription between the ears is the same as on no. 13. xiv c. (Mosque of Sha'ban.) h o-;!-j 15. Lamp, enamelled and ornamented on the neck ; inscription on the body referring to Sha'ban, as before, xiv c. (Mos(iue of Sha'ban.) H o:',(j 10. Lamp of plain blue glass with armorial bearing, a cup, in red enamel ; inscriptions and orna- ments (apparently once gilt) almost effaced. (Medresa of Barkfik, 1384.) h 0-28 17. Lamp of plain blue glass, with traces of gilt. (Mosque of Alty Barmak.) H 0-28 E. Lamps dkcorated with Enamelled Flowees IS, Lamp entirely covered with floral decoration on a blue enamel ground, h 0-.34 ' The reference to the tomb of Es-Salih and its inmate shows that the lamp must have been made after that Ayyubid Sultan's death in 647 a.h. (1248) ; and it is hardly likely that his tomb would have liecn adorned with lamps by anyone later than the xiii c. - EI-Ashraf Sha'ban ruled 1P6;J— 1377; his mam Ink, the amir who owned this lamp, would thus belong to the second half of the xiv c. GLASS 35 Room III. 10. Similar to preceding, but with traces of gilding ; on the neck and body, medallions inscribed in honour of a Sultan.' (Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1358.) F. Lamps covered with Enamelled Ornamext 20. Lamp covered with tracery in white, and orna- ments in red, blue, green, and yellow enamel, Iir. 20. Enamelled Glass Lamp of Sultan Hasan. XIVth centuey on a ground originally gilt ; on the neck, three medallions containing rosettes; and three others with inscription in honour of a Sultan. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 1358.) h 0--i2 ' The delicate inscriptions in such medallions, which occur on the majority of lamps, are dedications to the Sultan, either with or without his name : those of Sultan Hasan do not mention the name, those of Barkftk do. They are often a mark of respect from some officer, and do not necessarily imply that the lamp or other objpct was actually made for the Sultan himself. See Herz, On the mosque of Ezbek El-Yusufy, Beiue Egypt ienno, no. 1, Cairo, 1889. D 2 36 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room III. 21. Lamp enamelled; above the six ears, medallions in the name of Ez-Zaliir Abu-Sa'id [Barkilk]. (Medresa of Barkfik, 1384.) h o-:;(; 22. Lamp enamelled with bine border round the ears and rosettes on the body, with medallions on neck and body in name of Barkfik. (Medresa of Barkfik.) h*o:!0 23. Lamp enamelled over body with network of blue, and flowers in red, bine, green, and yellow enamel ; inscription in medallions in name of Barkfik, (Medresa of Barkfik.) h orst; 24. Lamp enamelled with ornaments in various colours ; a border of blue round the ears, which are separated by floral ornaments ; six floral medallions on the neck ; medallions on the body in name of Barkfdv. (Medresa of Barkfik.) h 0-37 25. Lamp enamelled with arabesques on the neck, and medallions in name of Barkfik. (Medresa of Barkfik.) h o-:i(; ; damaged. 20. Lamp enamelled with ornaments, geometrical patterns, and medallions in honour of a Sultan. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan, 135(8.) h o-4r>; foot replaced in wood. 27, Lamp nearly similar to preceding, (xMosque of Sultan Hasan.) h 0-40 2S, Lamp sim'ilar to two preceding, but patterns more complex, and between the floral designs of the neck birds ^ delicately drawn within tre- foils, (Mosque of Sultcin Hasan,) h o-to G. Lamps with Ixscription kound the Neck 29. Lamp with inscription on neck formed out of a ground of blue enamel : jk-ji) ; foot want- ing. 38 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room III. 36. Lamp with white enamel scrolls round inscrip- tion on neck, rosettes in several colours between ears, and neck inscription like no. 3.5. (Mosque of Sultrm Hasan.) h O'o^) 37. Lamp with ornaments between ears enclosed in white enamelled ornament ; same verse from Koran. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan.) h U-:>7 ; broken. 38. Lamp with body covered with blue enamel reti- culation enclosing flowers ; same Koran verse. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan.) h U'38 III. 38. ExAiMELLED Glass Lamp. XIV^th century 39. Lamp with central belt of white enamel fleurs- de-lis, and ornaments ; letters of Koran verse decorated with white scrolls. (Mos(|ue of Sultan Hasan.) h 0-38 H. Lamps wim Inscriptions on the Body 40. Lamp, with blue enamel interlaced decoration, relieved with red lines round the neck, and red- lined inscription round the body : — 39 RouM 111. 'Glory to our Lord tlio Sultan El-lMelik ez- Zaliir Abu-Sci'id [Biirkuk], God (exalted be He!) aid him.' (Medresa of BarkCdv, 1384.) h (»•;!!• 41. Middle of a lamp like 40, from the same medresa. H ir\6 42. Lamp enamelled with armorial bearings on neck and under body (on a fess, a lozenge), and inscription round the body: ^»^^i'^)l ^5.^)1 ^JbjUJt ^Xc j^\ .A^<^j^\ ^5^U!I ^9ljC)l ^iWl ' His excellency, the most uoble, exalted, pro- tecting, El-'Alay, the departed Amir 'Aly El- Maridany.' (Mosque of El-Maridany, 1388.) H 0-or> 43. Lamp, enamelled, with inscriptions on medal- lions of neck and on body in honour of Ez- Zahir [Barkuk]. (Medresa of Barkuk.) h O'od 44. Lamp, enamelled, with inscription as preceding. (Medresa of Barkuk.) h 0-4u I. Lamps with Insckiptions in blue enamkl on Nec k, and Inscriptions in clear glass on blue enamel geound ON THE Body 45. Lamp with enamelled verse from Koran on neck, and inscriptions on body and in medallions in name of Barkuk. (Medresa of Barkuk, 1384.) H ir-'A 4H, 47. Lamps resembling preceding. (JNledresa of Barkuk.) h U';;4, ir.'d 48. Neck of similar lamp, with name of Barkuk in medallions. (Medresa of Barkuk.) h ir-lo 49. Lamp, enamelled, with inscription on body : ^j.Jl3 iJjiJt j^ii j.oU)l JlXVt u^^J^-^' ^^'^>o-' >«■ oj^'j J.C j^«.^^ ^J.J ^-». ' Glory to our lord the Sultfiu El-M^lik cn-NasirNasir-ed-dunya wa-d- din Hasan ibn Mohammad, magnified be his triumph.' (Mosque of Sultfin Hasan, 1358.) H u;JU 40 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM EooJi III. 50 — 53. Lamps similar to 4'J, from the same mosque. H 0-40, u-:U, (r:!7, y-il 5-i. Lamp enamelled with ornaments and Koran verse in blue on neck, and inscription in honour of Barkuk in clear glass on blue ground on body. H {)--\o ; foot and part of body wanting. 55. Neck of lamp with inscription in blue enamel. (Medresa of Barkuk.) d o-l-i 56. Lamp enamelled with panels of arabesques on lower part. (Same.) h u-;JH, parts missing. 57. Body of similar lamp. (Medresa of Barkuk.) H 0-2.3 58. Piece of lamp similar to preceding. (Same.) H u-18 59. Neck of lamp with small inscription in blue enamel. (Same.) d 0-2-i 00. Lamp richly' gilt and ornamented with flowers and birds in red, white, blue, yellow and green enamel ; medallions with arms, two polo sticks:- addorsed ; and inscription in slender letters in blue enamel: [^]a«.!l ^ai~.M ^U)l ja^^JI J.«x U* ^^j^\ii\ ' Of what was made by his excellency, the exalted, Es-Seyfy el-Meliky en-Nasiry ' [i.e. an Amir who was successively mamlCdv of Seyf-ed-din Kalaun and En-Nasir Mohammad.] H 0-34 K. Lamps with neck Insckiptions in blue enamel okna- MENTED WITH WHITE, AND CLEAR BODY INSCRIPTION ON BLUE ENAMEL GROUND 61. Lamp enamelled with ornaments, bead borders and birds : Koran verse on neck, and on body 1 The well-pre.served gold on this lamp gives au idea i the rich effect such lamps must have originally produced. 41 RouM III. the inscription : j.^U\ JLX<.!t ^lJaL«JI l>'^^^) >c 0^-aJj.c «x»Air.^ Oi'^^h l*J-'^" j-^*-' ' Grlory to our lord the Sultan El-.Melik en-Nasir Nasir-ecl- dunya wa-d-dm Mohammad, magnified be his triumph.' (Medresa of Mohammad En-Nasir, 1-299.) H u-:!4 62. Lamp richly gilt and enamelled, with arms on neck and body — on a fess, a cup, including* an ancient hieroglyphic cartouche,' base plain — belonging to the x\mir Tughatemir, whose inscription runs round the' body of the lamp : ^=^)U)I ^ajl j\:>Uj.\\ j.^Xki^ (^A*-)' ' By order of his excellency, the noble, exalted, [manilidv] of the lord, the king, the master, Es-Seyfy Tughatemir, secretary of El-Melik es-Salih.' liate xiv c. h u;!!i ; body damaged. 60— (55. Lamps enamelled with ornai:pents and me- dallions and inscriptions in hoiiour of Sultan Hasan. (From his mosque, 1358.) 11 o-il, 0-38 (neck broken), 0-29 (neck wanting). 6(5 — 75. Lamps with inscriptions and delicately traced medallions in honour of Sultan Hasan. (From his 2iios(|ue.) With high foot — h 0'42, o--il, y-il, U-4U, 0-4O, o:;; (foot broken). With short foot — H u-:!(i, ();!(;, (i:;(j ; much damaged, U-2ti 7(). Lamp enamelled with ornaments : six medallions bearing a cup on a fess ; a verse from the Koran on neck ; and on body ^j^'^)^ ^a^\ ^^jj "' See Rogers in BuUelln dc I'/n.s/Unl J<:(j//p/. I88i>; L Poole, Art of the Savavens, pp. 195, 22*J. 42 CATALOGUE OF THE AKAB MUSEUM Room III. ' By order of his excellency, the most noble, exalted, [mauiluk] of the lord, the master, Es- Seyfy, Sheykhu en-Nasiry ' (i.e. successively in the service of Seyf-ed-din Kalaun and En- Nasir ^Mohammad), xiv c, (Given by Kosto- vitz Bey, 1886.) h o-:'.6 77, 78. Lamps with gilt letters on blue enamel ground for neck inscription, and inscription on body, in white enamel, in honour of Sultan Hasan. (From his mosque.) III. 76. Enamelled Glass Lamp of Sheykhu XIYth century 79, Lamp enamelled in red, blue, white, and green, inscriptions decorated with scrolls in blue enamel ; that on the body in honour of Sultan Hasan. (From his mosque.) h U-:'>7 80. Lamp with three medallions bearing arms, and interrupting Koran verse in white enamel on clear ground on neck, continued on body in clear letters on blue enamel ground ; and with another inscription at junction of neck — ■ \^o ^^i O^ ^ft;~JI ^'Wt ^^^\ j.ijl ^^j^ J^e. GLASS 43 Room III. ^^^\ ^llsu ^^t=>^sfJ\ ' Of what was made by order of liis excellency the most noble, exalted, Es-Seyfy Kan-Bey the Circassian, administrator of the kingdom.' (Mosque of Kan-Bey, 1441.) H 0-28 81. Lamp enamelled with elaborate flowers and an ill-formed inscription,' v_sjj.^)I >ola<.)l 13'n)^.oJ J^ aO.-» 1-f. Six small panels carved with arabes(|ues. l U'll — o-±2 1-"). Panel carved with inscription, a verse of the Korfiu, and date 1175a.h. (1761). (From the Delta.) L u;;7 16. Panel carved with inscription : j.-,.;.o-ll IJ^aI^Ij j,t jjL;5l5 ^-a;) 1 5jl ^^i,^)^ ' This Noble Book and the lectern, dedicated our lord the Sultan El-Melik el-Ashraf Abu-n-Nasr Kait-Bey, mag- nified be his triumph ! ' Latter part of xv c. L 0-34 20. Part of commemorative tablet with inscriptions dated 874 a.h. = 1469. (Mosque of Gakmak.) L 0-41 21. Two fragments of a tomb in wood panelling, delicately carved with inscriptions and orna- ments ; another part is no. 17. (]\losque of Imam Esh-Shafi'y, 1211.) L n-14 22. Folding doors of panel-work inlaid with ivory. (Mosque of Ezbek el-Yusufy, 1495.) i, V92 2o. Folding doors of panel-work inlaid with ebony and ivory carved with arabesques. (Mosque of Ibn-el-Bakry, in the HArat-el-Utuf, c. 1870.) I. 1-71 (top panels wanting). 24. Tablet commemorating restoration of pul])it, &:c. of mosque of Kady Yahya Zeyn-ed-dm at Bulak (now called Jami'-el-Mehkema) by Kha- waja Mustafa in the reign of Kait-Bey. Late XV c. L 0-76 25. Panel carved with ornaments, l (>'48 26. Panel of white wood carved and bordered with ebony, l o-'M WOODWORK 53 Room IV. "27. Part of lintel of })iilpit of mosciiie of el-Amnwy at Asyut, with kntic inscription : 13*^)^^ ^A^^)l J.A.4I aX)L j.MA^y^^i\ >6U^)I Ujk*.wj '. . . onr lord and master tlie Imam Fd-.Mnstansir-billah, commander of the faithful.' xi c. i^ loo 28. Carved panel, l o•;',.^ 29. Square carved panel, l o 32. Prayer-niche {mihrdh) of carved wood flanked by two pillars. (Mosque El-Azhar.') h Im;.") 33. Prayer-niche [iiiUtrdh) of carved wood in small panels, with kufic verse from the Koran. (Mosque of Sitta Nefisa, rebuilt c. 1700.) H l'P-2, signs of clumsy repairs. 34. Tablet carved with kufic inscription com- memorating erection of a mihrdJi in El-Azhar in 519 A. H. = 1125, with name of Fatimid caliph pjl-Amir bi-ahkami-llah. (Mosque El-Azhar, probably belonging to no. 32.) l 1-22 35. 36. Carved and perforated panels, l O-^";, 0-40 37. Secret door in form of cupboard, with small panelled door in middle inlaid with ivory, and compartments all I'ound for vases, t^'c. h l'r)9 38. Two panels of wood with plain ivory centres edged with mosaic, l 0-07 39. Four panels of wood with mosaic centres edged with ivory, l O-Oo ' This mihrab and the tablet no. 34 were both in the Azhar, and, though not found together, it seems probable that they were once united. The use of the palm-tree for forming the hollow, the simple outlines, and restrained foliate ornament are signs of early style: and no. 34 bears the date 112.5. See P. Ravaisse, ' Stir troix mihrdhs en hois sculpted in Mem. de I'lnst. Ecjyplien, 1889. 54 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room IV. 40. Fourteen panels of wood, some inlaid with ivory, some carved, l omi:; — nn 41. Two small ivory panels inlaid with ebony, ivory, and redwood. L oim 42. Three panels of wood inlaid with ivory and ebony mosaic, l oos 48. Part of a door, with panel-work carved or inlaid with ivory. H o'S |. 44. Three ivory panels carved with ornaments, and on the two larger panels this inscription : ^j.)i3 LijJI ^oU ^.oUI .tXk^U ' F.l-Melik en- Nasir, Nasir-ed-dunya wa-d-dm.' xiv c. L o-oc. 45. Four small carved panels of ivory, l oIg 4G. Six wood panels inlaid with plain ivory centres bordered with fillets, l om)? — OIO 47. Joists of carved wood with iron rings for sus- pending lamps, etc. (Tomb-mosque of El-(4hfirv, 1508.) L ■^■9 48. Koran-case of wood carved and painted with arab- esques inside and out, with inscription (inverted in front) : ^49 , . . ^ksK)-' t y-i^^^l Uis^^^\ ^^jj aCJL« aJLM jda. ' For the Noble Powerful r)0()k . . . the Sultan, Pailer, El-:\lelik el-Ashraf Abu- n-Nasr Kansuh Fil-Ghury, God perpetuate his rule.' c. 1508. l 0-79, wrongly put together. 49. 50. Three sides of a wooden tomb-casing, finely carved with rich and graceful ornaments and inscription giving name of Husn-ed-dln Talib b. Ya'kub. 121().i (Tomb of Sa'dat et-Talba, near the mosque of Imam Esh-Shafi'y.) l 1'80 ^ The fourth side, containing the date 613 a.h.=1216, is in the South Kensington Museum, and is reproduced on page 55. See Lane-Poole. Art of the Saracens, p. 122 and fig. 44. On the back are carved ornaments of a much earlier date, probably done for an older tomb of 304 a, H. =916. IV. 5'J. KURSY UF INLAID IVORY A\D EboXY [T..face p. , AVOODWORK 55 Room IV. 51. Two panels carved with name and title of Barkfik. l 040 52. Three carved panels. ]\loderii. (From the Delta.) L 0-32 53. Small carved panel, l 0-18 54. Panel of ceiling carved and painted with birds and hnman beings, one of whom drinks from a cup. (Maristfin of Ivalaun, 1284.) l 0-:;n 55. Table {kursy) of six sides with carved or turned panels, and stalactite cornice, ii o-i>:] ' Carved Side of a Sheykh's Tomb. 121() a.d. 56. Table {Jatysi/) with ebony panels carved with arabesques and edged with ivory. (Mosque El- Azhar.) h 0-98 ; repaired. 57. Table of wood inlaid with mosaics of ivory, tin, ebony, etc. H 078 58. Table, similar mosaics. (Mosque of El-Ghury.) n 111 59. Table, similar mosaics. (Mosque of Sha'ban, 1368.) H ri7 60. Table, similar mosaics, with arched opening keyed with ebony and ivory, and with medal- lions on the springs bearing arms, on a fess a lozenge, h n"-2 56 CATALOGUE OP THE ARAB MUSEUM Room IV. 61. Desk of wood veneered witli iiiother-ot-pearl. Syrian? n loo 62. 1 'rayer-niclie {mihrdh) of carved wood set in rectangular framework of small carved panels arranged in geometrical patterns ; on the back and sides, some panels are carved with a vase from which rise stems bearing fruit and flowers. (Chapel of Seyyida Rukeyya. c. 1135.) h 2-10 IV. fi-i. Panelled Door of Ashrafiya, 1423 68. Settle of turned wood. (House of Wakf El- Araby.) n W> 64. Leaves of a door of panelled wood inlaid with ivory and ebony. (Mosque of El-Ashraf, 142:1.) h 1-98 /- A IV r," MlHRAB OF SkYTIDA RUKEYYA. XIlIlU CKNTCRY I'lo face J). 5G WOODWORK 57 Room IV. Oo. Koirm-case, six-sided, of Avuod covered inside and out with delicate mosaics, divided inside into three comi)artnients, each with ten grooves, to liold the oO aj-ul or divisions of tlie Koran ; the hinges are of bronze incrnsted witli silver and gold. (Mosqne of Sha'ban.) l (r71 IV. no. FiMCiKKF: Bronzk Lantkkx. XIYth ckntury 58 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAP. MUSEUM Room IV. 66. Octagonal lantern in filigree bronze, with fleur- de-lis lozenge in centre of geometrical designs ; on the top, in hammered brass, a crescent. (Mosque of Suyurghatmish, 13o6.) h l-f>0 67. Nine stucco and stained glass window-lights. H 0-82— 1-74 68. 69. Two boards, panelled in geometrical patterns, and carved. (Mosque of El-Muayyad, 1420.) H 1-90, S-OO 70. Wooden frieze, divided into panels with bene- dictory kufic inscriptions, separated by stars. L l;^0 71, 72. Boards carved with ornaments and hufic Koran inscriptions. L 1-j^> 73. Board covered with carved ornament and in- scriptions. L 177 74. Part of a board painted with white letters on red ground. L 070 75. Board panelled and carved, with gilt fleur-de-lis carved in a medallion, verse from Korrm painted in the larger panels, and painted borders, l 2-1.'. 76. Board painted with ornaments, inscriptions, and patterns. L 17-2 77. Part of a painted board, l T-r,0 (Nos. 73 — -77 are from the Mosque of El-Muayyad.) 78. Board carved witli inscriptions on both sides, taken from the Koran, except the second line of the obverse, which commemorates the founda- tion of the tomb by Sultan Farag : — Li.3U j.««l Ji[xi (Tomb-mosque of Barkfik, 1405—1410.) L 1 ••:;:; 79. 80. Portions of carved board. (Mosque of El- Muayyad.) L 070, 100 wooDwomx 50 Room IV. 81, 82. Carved boards from covering of a ceiling- joist. (Mosque of El-i\Iiiayyad.) J. IIG 83 — 89. Seven panels carved with inscription in relief: — j^U\ ^k^)\ ^lJaI-~M U*^^^ . Board carved with geometrical patterns.^ l2»>.^ 1. Piece of a board carved with ornaments of the earliest period. (Tract of 'Ayn es-Sira, south of Cairo.) l (r:,7 0."). Panel carved with inscription recording erection of tribune [iliJilri) in tomb-mosque of Barkiik by Sultan Kait-Bey, and with medallion carved and inscribed in honour of Kait-Bey, in three lines. (From the tribune referred to, late xv c.) L •2-4:{ 00. T^anel carved with inscription commemorating restoration {tejdJd) of the mosque El-Azhar by Kait-Bey, xv c. (El-Azhar.) l (»-82 07. Carved piece, l ]•<>:; OS. Board ornamented with svmmetrical ai-abescjues. L 112 00. Carved board with traces of oildine;. l r79 ^ Nos. 08, 77, 70. 80, 91, 93 were found upon tbe ceiling of the llwan of the mosque of El-Muayyad durinj^ the repairs of 18S!>. but certainly did not belong originally to the mosque. They were apjmrently thrown over the ceiling to fill np holes, and may have come from some private house or palace, as their propitiatory inscriptions would lead us to suppose. 60 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM PtOo:\r Y. Woodwork, con tinned. Room V. 1. Two leaves of door panelled, and carved with geometrical ornament on top and bottom panels. (Delta.) H l-r;o '2. Cnpboard, with frieze, doors, and base, constructed of small panels of carved hard wood, and ivory inlaid with mosaics ; sides plain. (^losqiie El-Azhar.) h IGo o. Front of panelled cnpboard with two arches at top. H 1-74 4. Poor of carved and turned panels, h r.V2 5. Six pieces of wood carved with floral ornaments. (Weblla Sunbul.) l o-80-l-ni 6. Part of carved framing, l <>(>o 7. Board carved with arabesques. L o-.",; 8. Six carved boards. (Wekala Snnlml.) l o■.^.■, — i:.4 0. P)oard carved witli Korrm verse, l Ismi 10, 11. Two carved and, fretted panels. (Mosque El-Azhar.) t. or.9 12. Entablature of frame of a pulpit {)ninhar) of carved wood. L of.s 13. Two panels of a door, l o-;'..') 14. Part of carved ceiling, l o-4-2 15. Part of carved l)oard, with inscription connecting it with a fountain (w<^7/.). l l:;-:> AVOODUOllK 61 Room V. 16. Two stalactite brackets, with appli(|iu'' work at base. (House of Wakf El-'Araby in the Guda- rlya.) ii 1-60 17. Leaf of door, middle panel carved with geome- trical designs, h 0-7-2 18. Part of pointed arch in wood, with ornaments carved on the springs, l o-'.'h 11). Folding door carved with inscription. (Mosijue of Sevvid Ibr.lhTm El-Burkawy at Desuk.) ii 20. Folding door of panel-work ornamented with bronze. (Same mosque.) h V4-l< 21. Oblong panel carved and fretted. (Mosque El- x\zhar.) L U-85 22. Three pieces of carved boards from facings of joists. (Wekala Sunbul.) l (f7u — I--')-'. 23. Carved board from ceiling. (Wekfda Sunbul.) L rut) 2-1. Door of small carved panels in carved framing. (Khankah of Bevbars el-Grashenkir, 1306.) il ■2- 40 25. Side of pulpit door carved and inlaid with ivory. H 176 2(). Framework of a door, in small panel-work carved with fleurs-de-lis, and borders carved with animals. (Khankah of Beybars el-Gashenkir, 1306.) H •2;5;{ 27. Side of a Koran-reader's chair, with commemo- rative inscription dated 7'1() a.ii. = 1345. (Mosque El-Azhar.) n 1 •(».". 28. Central panel of ceiling, carved and painted, and inscribed in three lines: | ^L^jIs j...aJI ^l 6j.^J J..C I ^j.i'N)! >iJi-JL.JI C)^lAk^]\ Li^^^i >c Abu-n-Nasr Knit-] Jay, (illory to our lord the Sultan El-.\Ielik El-Ashraf, iMagnified be his triumph ! (Sebil of Kait-Bey, late xv c.) w 1-67 62 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM ItoOM V. 29. Joist carved in relief with inscriptiuii in huiiour of a sultan. L 2-So SO. Lintel of door carved with inscription in name of El-Melik El-'AzTz 'Othman b. Yusnf b. Ayyub, date 574 a.h. = 1178.^ (DesQk, Lower Egvpt.) L 2-12 31. Door of small panel-work. (House of Wakf El- Kasr 'Aly, xviii c.) h 2-oo 32. Koran-reader's chair, panelled, on turned feet. H rOS, repaired. 33. Carved bracket (for supporting framework from which lamps were suspended in the dome. See Eoom IV, no. 47). h 122 34. Door with bronze plates and bosses. (Tomb of Seyyid Ibrahim at Desiik.) h 2-17 35. Palmwood joist faced with boards originally painted. (Mosque Wakf el-Tawafiya.) l 4-2(i 36. Koran-reader's chair, of turned wood and panel- ling inlaid with mosaics. (Mosque of Kigmas El-Islmky, 1481.) n Tot; 37. Facing board of a ceiling joist, carved and painted white or gilt on blue ground. (Mosque of El- Muayyad, 1420.) l roo 38. Support of globe surmounting pulpit. (]\ros(|ue of Kusun, 1329.) h 0-90 39. Panel with carved surfaces. (Mosque El-Azhar, probably date of Kait-Bey's restoration.) l U'So 40. Part of carved ceiling, painted and gilt, l u78 41. Star-shaped painted table, turned panels at sides. (Tomb-mosque of El-Ghury, 1503.) h VoO 42. Ten stucco and stained glass window-lights. ^ El-'AzIz was then only a governor under bis father Saladin. WOODM'OEK 63 KoOM V. •13, 44. Cross-pieces of cu}iboai-d witli panels inlaid with ivory. (Mosque El-Gohariya in N.E. angle ofEl-Azhar, 1440.) l ](iu 45. Front of cupboard, with panels carved with arabesques and propitiatory inscriptions, and little arches cut out above. H •2,-21 4(3. Lanterns of sheet brass richly chased, for 100 oil-lamps, with dedicating inscription. (J\l osque El-Azhar.) h ISO [For other examples of woodwork, see Room VII, Passage, and Annex L] 04 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM KOOM VI. POTTEKY The potter's art was assiduously cultivated in Egypt from very early times, and it was certainly not allowed to deteriorate during the Moliammadan period. To quote Nasir-i-Khusrau again, the eleventh century traveller found that at Cairo all sorts of faience were made, and some so thin and transparent that you could see your hand through it ; whilst another kind had a metallic lustre, the shade of which changed according to the point of view/ The traditions of ancient Egypt and of Greek and Roman examples, and the influence of Persian ceramic art, all contributed to the variety and beauty of Arab pottery. Almost a history of the art could be traced by means of the numerous fragments, from the commonest domestic crockery to the finest decorative work, daily picked up among the rubbish mounds which mark the site of the old city of Fustat (near 'Old Cairo'), and whence connoisseurs, especially Dr. Fouquet of Cairo, have accumulated very interest- ing and beautiful collections. Sometimes these fragments have the baking cockspur still sticking to them (e.g. no. 145), a conclusive proof of native manufacture, to which may be added the numerous wasters found among the rubbish heaps. Among Sefer Nameh, trans. Ch. Schefev, p. 151. rOTTEUY 65 the most interesting fragments are tlie many which exhibit inscriptions or armorial bearings, and thus enable us to arrive at their date. The arms are often the same as those found on metal-work, glass lamps etc., such as the lion, two-headed eagle, cup, lozenge, etc. ; and a careful classification of these indications with reference to dated examples in other arts would go some way towards making a foundation for the history of medieval Arab pottery. Among these fragments some are glazed faience, others are merely baked earthenware of a hard unglazed paste, often stamped with marks indicating probably the capacity of the vessel. The glazed faience forms a rich series worthy of more careful study than it has hitherto received. As an entrepot of commsrce between East and West, Egypt naturally received influences from all sides, and there is no doubt that certain oft- repeated designs (see nos. 185 and 188) must be derived from China, whence also came the un- doubtedly Chinese celadon or sea-green glaze which had a great attraction for Egyptian potters (see no. 144). This celadon ware, which was preserved in families from generation to generation, is known throughout Egypt by the name of Glt/lri/, which may be derived from the well-known Sultan of the beirin- ning of the XVIth c. who built so many monuments and often employed faience for their decoration. The fragments of vases in which an opaque enamel formed the glaze often bear on the bottom an artist's signature, e.g. ^^J.-£^,^ J.<.6 'made by El-Misry [the Cairene'], ^^at (Thazzah The Arabs, unlike the Persians, made but a spar- ing nse of wall-tiles in their decoration; but this is explained, no doubt, by their preference for marble, which was readily obtained in Egypt or near by, and which in the form of mosaic produced a richer effect tlian tiles could give. In this preference they followed the Eomans. As a matter of fact the only monuments of Arab rule in Egypt which are decorated with tiles are the minarets of the mosque of En-Nasir in the citadel (I0I8), the tomb of Tash- temir the Cupbearer (1334), and the tomb called that of the Khawand Baraka, of about the same date, the last two in the Eastern Cemetery or so- called ' Tombs of the Caliphs.' In the minarets of En-Nasir the tiles are of single colours, white, brown, and green, and cover up the roughly-hewn stones of the upper stage. The cupola of Tashtemir has a band of green tiles in the drum. That known by the name of Khawand Baraka (though it is not her tomb) has on its cupola a course of tiles forming an inscription, the upper edge of which is empha- sized by a shoulder crowned with merlons. The large white letters stand boldly out of the ground, which is of two shades of green, and set off by foliage in dark brown faience. The ensemble of letters, foliage, etc., has the appearance of a mosaic of irregular joints, which may almost be compared to the effect of a cyclopean wall. 67 We liave to skip a century and a lialf before we find anotlier nionnniont with tliis characteristic. The visitor to the ^Fusenni will bo struck by the large plaques of tiles barred by great M'liite letters on a blue ground. Tliese letters are of unusual excellence, and formed on so large a scale that they cover two courses of tiles. The ornaments which fill up the intervals have the true Arab cachet. The registers state that they came from the tomb of EL Ghury, and if they really belonged to it they pro- bably formed a band round the dome, like those already mentioned. The present dome is a wooden erection set uj) by Franz Pasha, about fourteen years ago; but we learn from Prisse d'A venues,^ that the original dome, which was shaken by an earthquake and had to be demolished, was orna- mented outside, first by squares of blue faience, like the minaret [ac//. the minaret of El- Ghury 's collegiate mosque, opposite the tomb-mosque which had no minaret], then by a band of inscription, and finally by little blue and white imitation windows fixed between the windows of the dome. Among a heap of waste sherds I found a piece of faience, no. -VIS, which I have placed over no. "iVo, of which it is the comple- ment in colour of glaze, ornaments, and character of inscription. These fragments apparently formed part of one of those commemorative tablets which in the XIY and XY cc. were often set up in the name of some Sultan ; and in this ease the Sultan's name L'Art Arahe, p. 123. F 2 68 CATALOGUE OF THE AEAB MUSEUM is El-Glniry. This and other evidence makes it clear that in the tiles mentioned above, and notably those of the tomb of El-G-hiiry, we see a native manu- facture. It should be noticed that only one or two colours are used in these Egyptian tiles. It was only when Egypt came under 'Othmfmly rule that tiles became fashionable for architectural decoration, on the walls of mosques, houses, and especially the combined street-fountain {sebll) and school {kniUlh) which is a jirominent object in Turkish building. The mosqne of Aksunkur (1347) restored in 1652 by Ibrahim Aga Mustahfazan, and the mosque of the Amir Sheykhu (1355), have sometimes been cited as examples of the early use of wall-tiles : but a glance at the latter will show that the tiles are mixed up without any method with the remains of the original marble mosaic work, and there is no doubt that the tiles which line the ItH-dn of Aksunkur were placed there by the restorer Ibrahim Aga. The tiles of both mosques, too, are not of the simple Arab style ; they are Turkish — Prisse d' A venues classed them conveniently [but we knov/ not on what authority] as Kutahia ware. Of course, in time Egypt learned to manufacture tiles in the Turkish style, yet with an individual character — e.g. at Kosetta ; but the art has long fallen into decay (witness the mihrab of the mosque of Sitta Nefisa at Cairo dated 1171 a.h. = 1757), the kilns burnt out, and in the present century imported tiles from Italy (see no. 252) have been employed in decoration. POTTERY loc A. U.VGLAZEJ) Eakthenwark )M VI. 1. 2 S. 4. 5. 6. Cup. D 017 Cup. D 01.5 Cup. (Mosque of El-Gliiiry.) i) 014 Cup, with signs of glaze inside, d Oil Tall vessel, ii 015 Small vessel. H o-ol 69 7 — 9. Water-jars. (Mosque of El-Gliury.) h 008—012 10, 11. Lamps, h Olo, 012 12, 13. Pipes. H oo:! 14. Brick. (Masr el-'Atika.) l 015 15, 16. Greek fire grenades, stamped with name ]\Iohammad. H Oil 17 — 34. Eighteen fragments of vessels with various marks. (Given by Dr. Fouquet.) 35. Vessel in shape of quadruped. (Given by Dr. Fouquet.) l 014 36. Jug with ovoid base, h o-;]? 37. 38. Amphoras with pointed base. (Mosque of Imam Esh-Shafi'y.) H 055, 060 39. Jug with spherical base. H 0-:!7 40. Jug with flattened base, ii 0-21 41. Talisman {Iwjdh) with stamped inscriptions. D 0-06 S. Glazed Pottery 42--59, Eighteen lamps, l O'O!'— 012 60. Globe for lamp- chain, of terra cotta with yellow enamel. (Mosque of wife of Kait-Bay in the Fayyum.) d oil 61, 62. Globes of glazed pottery witli blue flowers on white ground, d 0'22 63. Bottom of dish, white enamel, blue and black ornament, inscription outside. (Mos(|Ue of El- GhTiry.) 64. Dish with moulded border in various colours. D 008 70 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room VI. 65. Piece of a plate with iuscriptiou. d 020 66. Lamp, coloured decoration on o})aque white ground, inscription from Koran, date 1155 a.h.= 1745. H 0-45 67. Lamp, blue, green, and yellow ornaments on white ground. H 0-29 68. Lamp, blue and green decoration on white enamel. (Mosque of Seyyid El-Bedawy, at Tanta.) H 0-23 69. Lamp, blue decoration on white ground. (Same provenance.) h 0'22 70. Lamp of terra cotta covered with turquoise blue enamel. (Mosque of Sultan Hasan.) h 0-;!0 71. Large vessel of terra cotta, glazed, and decorated with a network of lines. Evidently made in seve- ral distinct zones. (Mosque El-Azhar.) H O'!'! 72. Cup glazed inside, d 0-06 7-i — 80. Fragments of glazed pottery : 73, 74, in- scriptions ; L 0-07. 75, armorial bearing, a sword on an escutcheon, and inscription ; l O'OH. 76, inscription ; L o-o7. 77, fleur-de-lys ; d o-o7. 78, white glaze upon terra cotta, on bottom ^^-*c Gheyby ; d o-oi>. 79, similar, on bottom J!>c GhazzAl ; d oo;!. 80, foliate ornament of Arab character; l O0!t. (Given by M. Herz Bey, 189:5.) 81 — 166. Objects and fragments ot pottery: 81 — 108, fragments, opaque white glaze ; 185, design resembling porcelain fragment no. ol8 ; 144, green glaze of celadon class ; fragment with cockscomb still attached which supported another object in the kiln ; 157, cup, white glaze, 1) 0]:!; 158, 159, cups, i) o-IG, o-U ; 100—162, small vessels, h oo7 — olO; 163, 164, camps, II 0-09; 165, blue glaze, D O'Oo ; 166, saucer, u oo4 (Given by Dr. Fouquet, 1893.) 71 Room VI. -1()7. Plaque representing tlie Hai-ani and Kaaba at Alfcea, in perspective, with inscription stating it .was nuide by Mohammad Esh-Sha"my (tlie Syrian) in lloO' A.n. = 1726. l 0-4:. VI. 167. Tni Ka hJS- 177. Ton enaiiielh'd tiles with ornaiueiit de- rived from the violet, l U'2-j rl CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM liooM vr. 178. Piece of enamelled border, h 0-13 179 — 181. Four pieces of a spandrel, l 0-25 182 — 185. rive enamelled tiles, white ornament on blue ground, l 024 186, 187. Two fragments of wall-tiles, enamelled in red, blue, and green, on white ground, h 0-14-, 0-17 188 — 190. Three tiles enamelled with two shades of blue on white ground, l 0"2.5 VI. 172. Enamelled Tile 191. Plaque containing a portion of a panel and frame, l u-2r) 192 — 195. Four oblong tiles, with blue, grey, and green ornament on white ground. L U-l!» 196, Tile with grey and blue ornament in several shades, l 0-19 197 — 199. Three tiles with white and green orna- ment on blue ground, l u-i:! — u-15 200—212. Thirteen tiles, l yio— o-2:5 poor work. 213, 214. Two pieces : a panel in white bordered by blue and green ornament, l 0-25 poor work. 215—228. Fourteen tiles of good workmanship. L yyil — u-2.3 73 Room V^I. 229j 230. Two tiles (one imperfect) with interlacing border in relief.' (Mosque of Klioshkadam El-Alimady.) l (fOri, o-lo 231 — 235. Five panels formed of fifty tiles, repre- senting a flower growing out of a vase. (House of Nefusa Gasusa, modern.) l 079 236—247. Twelve tiles. Modern, l 020 248 — 252. Tiles with naturalistic designs : — an in- sect, Cyprus, foliage, and flowers. European. 253 — 271. Nineteen tiles with white letters on blue ground forming the kalima or profession of faith and pious formulas. 272. Large arched panel composed (now) of fourteen small tiles, on which are inscriptions in white letters outlined in green on blue ground, framed in border of white on green. 273. Part of a panel containing medallion in honour of a sultan, white on blue. 274. Piece identical with lower part of preceding no. 275 — 292. Eighteen enamelled tiles with blue letters and ornaments outlined with white on blue ground ; the letters extend over two courses of tiles. 293 — 308. Forty enamelled tiles with white inscrip- tion extending over two courses, and white ornaments of pure Arab style, on blue ground. (Dome, demolished 18G0, of Tomb-mosque of El-Ghiuy, 1503.) 309. Fragment of brown tile with white inscription and green foilage. (Dome of Khawand Baraka, xiv. c.) 310 — 313. Part of cornice of frieze. (Same pro- venance.) ^ .Similar tiles are in the mosque of Sheykhu. They re- semble those of Spain, whence they were probably imported. 74 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB -AIUSEUM Room VI. 314 — 317. Tiles, four green, live white, two brown (dark and light), from north minaret of mosque of Sultan Eu-Nasir Mohammad in the Citadel, 1318. C. POKCKLAIX 318. Part of a porcelain vessel, white, with bright blue foilage, (Kubbish heaps.) 319 — S'l'l. Four celadon vases. (Mosque of Sultan Hasau.) 323. Twentv-three blue enamel beads. Miscellaneous 324. Stone lamp. Given by Dr. Schweinfurth. 325. Plaster cup. 326. Carnelian dish, with edges raised, cut in facets. (Mosque of Kalaun.) iV precious example of the work in crystal and precious stones chiefly known only from medieval historians and tra- vellers. 327. Modern lantern. EOOM VII. A. Meshrebiya Work Room VII. 1. Front of meshrebiya window or balcony: in upper panel a vase between two lions, H Vo'J 2. Side of balcony, h -ivO 3 — 5. I'arts of balcony, the base in fretted wood. H -i-M, ;i-2o 6. Front of balcony, h -itio 7. Side of balcony with small window, h -JoU 8. Ten carved balusters from staircase, l U'bo 9. Side of chair, l 0-69 10. Staircase, bases and capitals of balusters carved with arabesques, L '2--M) 11. In the upper panel, two animals, h r'>4. 12. Side of balcony with small window, h -J'"!- lo. Front of balcony with projecting window (l-JiuJxhd). L :;-oo 14 — 17. Turned work. li o-5:!— U-.>> 18. Side of balcony, h 2-85 19. Side of balcony with window. H ■V-'A) 20. Turned lattice with large knobs. H ]!••'. 21. Side of balcony with liase. ii -Joo 22. Turned lattice, h Is.'. 2o. Side of balcony with /i7/y/,7/'f. ii Im:'. 24. Koran-reader's seat, ii It;:! 25. Lattice, with representation of })ulpit and htiup. H r.>J 76 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room VII. 26. Two sides of balcony, h I'Oo 27. Window lattice with large knobs, h VU 28. Turned lattice, l u7;3 VII. 1. Panel of Meshrebiy. 29. Turned lattice, with triangular knobs orna- mented with ebony buttons, h (r-l:\ •■](). Koran lectern. (Mosque of El-T\Iuayyad, 1420.) H 1-2U LATH-TRELLIS, DOOUS, LANTERNS / / Room VII. I>. Lath Tkei.i.is 01. Lattice ill cut wood. 02. Trellis, octagonal mesli. l 075 33. Trellis j>criicifo nil mesli. H 0-93 34. Trellis, octagdiial STid cruciform meshes, n Voo 35. Trellis, star-shaped mesh, h ^•:!•^ 30. Trellis, star-shaped and cruciform meshes. H o-GO C. Dog lis 37. Leaves of a wall-cupboard {(hihiJ)) ornamented with arcades above, h 1~o 38. Door of panel-work, h r04 39. Front of a live-doored cupboard {dnldh) ; three designs of pannelling. l 3-35 40. Front of a cupboard surmounted by arches. H l-6r. 4L Door, wavy pattern, h lo; 42. Door panelled in rhomboids and diamonds. H 0-95 43. Door panelled in rectangles, h 1-uO 44. Door panelled in sixfoil design, h 1-80 45,46. Front of cupboard, tenfoil design, h 176 47. Three cupboard fronts ; the middle with hexagonal design, h 175 48, 49. Cupboard doors panelled in steps, h 1-08 50. Cupboard door, rectangular design, h 1'08 51, 52. Cujiboard door, hexagonal design, h r08 53, 54, Cupboard door, rectangular design, h 1'U8 55. Koran lectern, cut out of a single piece. (Mosque of El-Muayyad, 1420.) h 100 D. Lanteuns 56. Cylindrical lantern in six tiers, composed of open-work panels containing arabesques and geometrical designs ; except tlic tliird tier 78 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room VII. where tlie panels ure solid and carvcid with an inscription in honour of Sultan El-(lhury, and are divided by medallions also containing his name and titles ; dome-top, surmounted by crescent. Early xvi c. h 1--V) 57. Twelve-sided lantern in six tiers ; open-work panels with geometrical designs ; dome sur- mounted by crescent, with inscription in name of i^jMsl^\ ^^A<^il (j^--5 'Keysun [the mamlilk] of El-Melik en-Nasir'; and on the third tier the inscription j^^^ ^s %s.j ^A jj.j ^^Xaji J.o.c ajIcJiw^ ^o'^j a;w 'Made by the master Bedr Abu-Ya'la in the months of the year 730 (1329),' and ji^ {nc) j-^kxjji 5^^ tjs ' Finished in the space of fourteen days.' (Mosque of Snltan Hasan, 13.58.) .')8. Lantern ; the lower part in form of a plate with twelve sockets is attached by three chains to the dome, which is of open-work and surmounted by a crescent, and has projecting arms for lamps. H 2-00 79 PtOo:\i Till. Bookbindings Atjab bookbinding is interesting not only in itself, but on acconnt of its influence on Italian and European binders from the XVtli c.' The three hundred bindings in the Museum, with the excep- tion of a few specimens from the mosque of Barkuk, were all found piled together among books in a small room behind the miltrdh of the mosque ofEl-Muayyad, and probably belonged to the library origin ally established in that mosque. Oriental bindings have a flat instead of a rounded edge, which is generally protected by a flap on which as much ornament is lavished as on the side ; the side does not project beyond the edge of the book. The material is generally marocco, but silk and other tissues are sometimes used in the decoration. The leatlier is generally left its natural colour and only painted ' The early Italian bindings belonging to Maioli, Cane- variup, Grollier, and especially Corvinns, are obviously in- debted to Arab models. The bindings at Budapesth which formed part of the library of Mathias Corvinus (1458 — 1490), and were carried off to Constantinople in the xvi c, and only restored to Hungary in 1878, are so Oriental in cha- racter that one would almost believe they were made in tlie East. 80 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM ill certain places. The Airth bindings are marked by arabesque ornament applied by the iron and form- ing intaglio designs on the sides, even though the ornament on the guards be in relief. The side orna- ment is sometimes contrasted by colour and gold from the guards which retain the original colour. Often a foliate design is cut out in leather and applied on a silk ground and touched up with gold previously laid on the outlines, and pressed with hot iron, with very happy effect (see below). The designs are very similar to those of other branches of Arab art ; on the sides polygonal patterns and inscriptions are most usual, but arabesques on the guards. The Museum is rich in arabesques and geometrical patterns, but for inscriptions the visitor must go to the Khedivial Library and study the magnificent bindings of Korans, dating from the Xlllth c. This fine manner of work ended with the Turkish conquest of Egypt. Turkish bindings have this vital distinction from the Arab style, that, instead of heated irons, mechanical dies or matrices were employed, and the individual taste of the artist was thereby 'deprived of free play in tooling. Arabesques and geometrical designs gave place to naturalistic figures of the Persian style, and effects were obtained in the way of high relief by means of two thicknesses of leather, one above the other, the upper being cut out to the desired shape. The leather was then forcibly pressed against the mould, and obtained tlie sharp relief which marks the Persian and Turkish style of binding. These moulds BOOKBINDINGS 81 were originally of camel-leather, but at a later period they were made of metal, as is shown by three brass moulds in the collection of J. A. Cattaui Bey of Cairo. Varnished bindings form the most modern variety. The leather was coated with a sort of plaster, on which the design, most com- monly flowers in their natural colours, were painted, and the surface was then varnished. The varnish turned yellow in time, but where it scales the painting appears in its original freshness. EooM Vlll. Case A. (67 Specimens) 1. Flap of a leather binding, covered with green tissue, with pinked ornament tooled with foliage picked out in gold. 2. Side of leather binding; in centre, geometrical rosette in various colours and gold. 3. Flap of a large binding, with impressed orna- ment. L U'S-J 4. 5. Guards of leather binding, ornamented with arabesques in the natural colour upon a darker pressed ground. 6. Side of a leather binding ornamented with geo- metrical designs ; in the centre a twelve-foiled rosette, and (juarter rosettes at angles ; the alternate foils marked by gold points. 7. Flap of leather binding, ornamented with inter- laced gold and leather pattern, enclosed in wide geometrical border. 8. Side of a leather binding, Turkish (in Persian style) ; oval centre-piece, whence leaves and flowers spread out in relief; edges set off by gold lines. 82 CATALOaUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Room VIII. Case B. (204 Specimens) 9. Flap of binding like no. 1. 10. Side of binding entirely covered with geometrical designs. 1 1 . Wooden Koran-case, covered with leather, with a repousse gilt leather rosette on the top, and a richly gilt band at the base, bearing an inscrip- tion in which the name Kansuh (probably Kansuli El-Ghury, 1501 — 1516) may still be read. The interior is divided into three com- partments, each with ten grooves, for the iij::ci. 12. Embroidered silk stuff. 13. Tomb-cover of red cloth with applique velvet and silk. 14. Lantern, dome of brass filigree work, supporting a plate of nine sockets ; and chased with numerous inscriptions, in which are the name and titles of ' the deceased' (>e^-&.j.-<^JI) Sultan En-Nasir Mohammad. L Passage, 1. Door from El-Azhar, circ, 1000 iToface p. 83 PASSAGE Woodwork Passag e 1. Folding door with panels carved with ornamen and kufic inscriptions,' on the right leaf, on the left leaf, ' Our lord the Commander of the Faithful — the ImAm El-H;lkim bi-amri-llah, Blessings of God upon him and upon — his pure ancestors and descendants.' (Mosque El-Azhar. The Fatimid Caliph El- Hakim reigned 990—1020.) h :!-J() 2. Front of a balcony of carved wood, l -J'Sd 3. Side of balcony with small projecting window. H 1-95 4. Folding door carved with representations of men and animals. (Cp. Room IV, no. 54.) (Mosque of Kalaun, 1284.) h ;!-8:! 5. Door carved with inscriptions at top and bottom ' There are marks of clumsy restoration on these fine old doors ; the jiiiiiels liave been misplaced, and the inscriptions on the left leaf onght to l»e on the right, and vice versa; the framework has been entirely renewed, and also some of the panels. Q 2 84 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Passage and ornament in the middle. (Mosque El- Goliariya in El-Azliar, 1440. See 44 of Eoom V.) L 1-30 6. Large folding door richly carved with geo- metrical designs. (Damietta.) H 4-1.5 7. Folding door with filigree chased bronze plating. (]\Iosqiie of El-Higaziva, 1360.) 8. Side of meshreblya balcony ; lower part fret- work. H 2 '30 9. Front of meshreblya balcony with five glass and stncco windows above, h 2't30 10. Leaf of a door studded with nails. (Tomb- mosque of El-Ghiiry, 1503.) H 2-0^. 11. I'iece of board carved with ornaments and in- scriptions. L 262 12. Piece of carved board from a ceiling. L 0-80 13. Brass-wire trellis. H 007 14. Front of a balcony with three windows ; base of turned work with cube knobs, of the style called ' mam /''III/. ^ H 17') 15. Carved joist. (Tomb-mosque of El-Ghury, 1503.) L 2-88 16. Carved board with traces of gilding, l 2'80 17 — 22. Carved boards. (Tomb-mosque of El- Ghiiry.) L 1-05— 2-80 23. Wooden ceiling with geometrical pattern of fillets (beads) nailed on. L 3-20 24 — 26. Carved ceiling boards. (Mosque of El- Mclridany, 1338.) l lOO— 2-53 27 — 34. Ceiling boards carved in relief. (j\ledresa of Barkak, 1384.) 35. Carved ceiling board. (Tomb-mosque of El- Ghury.) L 2-80 36. Part of round window casing, carved. (]\losque of El-Maridany.) w 0-20 '67. Two fragments of large carved inscription, l 178 WOODWORK 85 Passage 38. Twentv-five carved ceiling boards. (Mosque of El-iMriridany.) L IRl— -Jl.? 39. Eight pieces of stalactite from a ceiling, ii (>"0r. 40. Two pieces of a frieze with ornament and in- scription in stucco, painted and gilt, l '2-7-\ 41. Panelled door, h I'-to 42. Folding door, j^anelled and inlaid with ivory. II 2'48, repaired. 43 — 47. Carved boards. (Tomb -mosque of El- Ghury.) 48. Front of meshreblva balcony with three windows. L ■l■•.^7 49. Piece of board carved with ornament and in- scriptions. L -l-IT 50. Door-leaf studded with nails in geometrical patterns. (Tomb-mosque of El-Ghury.) h 2-95 51. Front of balcony with live windows. L 3'.52 52. Side of balcony with oblong window ; base, fret- work. H 2-82 53. Base of balcony with rosettes, turned and fretted. L 2-.54 54. Eailing of geometrical design, l 212 55. Folding door with panels of different woods carved with kufic and naskhy inscriptions. (Tomb of Es-Srdih Ayyfd), P249.)' h l:".:. 56. Panelled doors, h 21. ^ 57. Front of balcony, l 2-.'.n 58. Lintel of shop door, in turned and carved panels, with name of Kait-Bey, late xv c. (Wekrda of Kait-Bey, in the Gemrdiya.) l 2-08 59. Side of a meshrebiya balcony, with small bay. H loO 60. Front of a meshrebiya balcony, with base and panel. L 2'35 61. Carved ceiling joist. (Tomb-mosque of El-Gliury, 1503.) L 4-80 86 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Passage 62. Folding door with geometrical bronze plating or inscriptions. (Mosque of El-HigazTya, loliO.) II 4-20 63. Beam carved with inscription in name of Sheykh Mohammad 'Abd-el-Latlf, a.h. 1178 = 1764. L :V8-2 64 — 68. Panels of turned wood, l o(;-2 — T-22 69. Ten ceiling boards, l o-8u — liio 70. Four doors with carved ornament. (Wekala Sunbul, Bevn-es-Sureyn, demolished 1884.) II 140— r,^3' 71. Lintel of shop door with turned and carved panels and name of Kai't-Bey. (Welolla of Kait- Bey, late xv c.) l i'-^" 72. Inscribed panel, l 1-0 73. Two pieces of large inscriptional board, l 0-70 — 1-05 74. Five pieces of frieze with kufic inscription from inner partitions of mosque of Ibn-Tidun, t^i^G. L 1-06— r40 75. Part of a ceiling from the arch of a porch. (Mosque of Ibn-Tnlun.) l 0-82 76. Part of pulpit staircase (of Lagin, 1296, in mosque of Ibn-Tuliin.) L 0-98 77. Wood ornamented with fretwork. Modern. (Mosque of Seyyida Zeyneb, 1760.) l 2-11 78. Two wooden corbels of a house. Modern, l Vtl:: 79. Lantern in form of hexagonal prism, ^lodern. H 1-00 80. Brass vessel, h o-:io 81. Brass lantern. Modern, d 0-25 82. Brass vessel, h 0-;10 83. Brass lantern for five lamps, filigree dome, h 0-.j5 84. Brass vessel. H 070 85. Brass lantern for S3ven lamps, witli dome, chased. H 070 ^VOODWORK, ETC. 87 Passage 8(5. Brass lantern, conical, with bulb, chased witli inscriptions and ornament, ii 07.5 87. Brass lantern with tray, h -J-JK 88. Chair of turned and carved panelwork. H I'-'O 89. Four dove-tails. (Mosque of Aksunkur, 1347. ) L 0-19— o-::;? Passage, 8R. Brass Lantern 90. Settle [iHklm] of turned and worked wood. L 2-4n 91. Board with large inscription in relief. (Mosque El-Azhar.) 88 CATALOGUE OF THE AEAB MUSEUM Passage 92. Board witli insciiption »^lai-)l ti.A j^j^s^^j j^\ aJCJL^ 4.X)I j.).^ l5W*5^' ' Ordered the restoration of this mosque our lord and master the Sultan El-Melik el-Ashraf Abu-n-Nasr Kait-Bey, God prolong his reign ! ' Late xv c. 93. Board carved with inscription from Koran, and also relating to erection of a mihrdh in 753 A.H. = 1352. 94. Board with inscription referring to gift of a Koran by Bedr Lulu, in ^^)S a.h.= 1454. 95. Panel with inscription referring to the building of a mosque. 89 ANNEX I. 1 — 7. Panelled doors. H V7^> — 2-2r> 8. Secret door forming cupboard, h 1-90 9. Folding door, plated with copper and ornamented with bronze stars. (Mosque of Talfii' ibn Ruzzik, 1160.) H 4:'.7 10. Folding door with bronze plating. (Tomb of Imam Esh-Shafi'y, 1211.) h :r-2:; 11. Folding door with remains of bronze plating in centre, h 4-50 12. Leaf of a window-shutter plated with copper, framed with bronze at top and bottom, and cut fleurs-de-lis. h o^>^> 13. 14. Foldingshuttersof panel- work, chased bronze hinges, and inscriptions at top. (Mosque of Suleyman Pasha at Citadel, xvi c.) H 2-2.5 15. Folding doors with copper hinges and cast- bronze flowers. H :]-2-5 10. Folding doors with remains of filigree bronze border, h ;5-07 17. Four doors with remains of bronze plating and two knockers. H ■^■^7 18. Leaf of door of wood, with inscriptions and rosette in cast-bronze filigree work. (Mosque of El-Muayyad, 1420.) h -.VU 19 — 28. Folding doors plated with filigree cast- bronze. Modern. (Mosque of Seyyida Zeyneb, 1700.) H 2-28— ;;-2(» 24, 25. Chairs of turned wood, l 17' », l;W 90 CATALOGUE OF THE ARAB MUSEUM Annex I. 26, 27. KorAn-readers' chairs of panelling and ivory inlay, l r '.•">, l-2,^> 28-31. Lecterns for Koran, (Mosque of El-Mnayyad, 1420.) H 1-11, ri2, TOO, 1-00 32. Lectern of turned wood, ii 1-20 'do. Pulpit {minhiiv) of rich geometrical panelling inlaid with ivory, and turned balustrade to staircase. (Mosque of El-Higazlya, 1360.) 34, 35. Inlaid wooden boxes. L 076 36. Wooden casing of a tomb (top wanting) witli carved inscription. (Tomb in the street Dely Hoseyn.) l 1-90 37. Three sides of a similar tomb-casing. L V-2G 38. Five panels, the centre bearing name of Kait- Bey. Late xv c. (Tomb of Esh-.Shafi'y.) l i'lo 39. Front of meshreblya balcony, l V6S 40. Side of balcony, cubic knobs (' mamuny ' work). H 1-86 41. Front of a sis -panelled piece of furniture, witli pilasters in middle. 42. Partition of turned and carved wood, with geometrical patterns. (Mosque of Ibn-el-F)akry, in the Harat el-Utuf.) L 4-08 43. Soffit of a door, in three planes, finely carved. L 2-40 44. Stalactites in triple grades of gilt wood, h iNd 45. Staircase and balustrades of a pulpit carved with arabesques on string-board and raisers and on cubic knobs of balustrade. (Mosque of Kusim, 1329.) 46. Panel of carved wood open-work. Side 048 47. Three plates of chased copper from a door. 48 — 50. Stucco and coloured glass window-lights. L 0-84, 1-30, 0-6.^ 51 — 53. Base of a marble column, kiilla form : 53 has foliage or corners of plinth.] H 012, 028, 042 ANNEX 91 Annex J, 54. Byzantine foliate capital, ii Ol.-) 55. Capital of an angle pillar of a marble tomb. H 0-50 56. Forty-two fragments of sculptured marble. H u-:!0— 1-20 57. jNIarble slab, in two fragments, sculptured with titles of a sultan, and two chimaeras addorsed. (Tomb in Mosque of El-Muayyad, 1420.) w 07L1 58. Marble sculptured with four fish, l 2-20 59. Twelve pieces of sculptured stone. L 0-28 — O-.W (56 — 59 were all found in the Mosojue of El- Muayyad during the recent restoration.) 60. Leaf of a panelled door, cast-bronze filigree work at top and bottom, bronze rosette in centre. 61. l\arapet often panels of turned woodwork. The Second Room of this Annex and the whole of Annex II are occupied hyovor a tlionsand tovihstoiies, with kufic inscriptions, chiefly of the II — lYth c. of the Hijra, from the old cemetery at Aswfin and that south of Cairo : most of them were the gift of the Direction of the CxTza Museum. ^jj;,BEHJ' A.NK mVl.NUXU.S, hD., ST. JOHN'S HUUSt; W-EUKENVVKLL, LO.NDON, Sampson Low, Marston & Company's I=XJBIjIC.A.T JOISTS. NOW COMPLETE. THE QUEEN'S PRIME MINISTERS. A Series of Political Biographies. Edited by Stuart J. Reid. , *t* A limited Library Edition of Two Hundred and Pifty Copies, each numbered, printed on hund-mnde puper, parehmenf buidiiig, r/ilt-fup, vifhfacsinfile reproducfion», in xome ennea of chararteristie notes of Speeches attd Leften, which are not included in the ordimiry Edition, and some additional portraifn. Trtca for the Complete Set of NINE VOLUMES, Four Guineas nett. No Volumes of this Edition Sola separately. THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, K.G. By James Anthony Fkoude, D.C.L. With PliotogTiivure Porti-ait. P'ifth Edition. Crown 8v'0, cloth, 3s. 6f/. LORD MELBOURNE. By Henry Ddnckley (" Vekax "). "With Pliotogravure Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3.«. 6rf. THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. By G. W. E. Russell. New Pklition. Twelfth Thousand. AVith Photogravure Portrait. Crown 870, Sx. 6/. THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, K.G. By H. D. Traill, II.G.L. With Photogravure Portrait. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo, 3,«. 6rf. SIR ROBERT PEEL. By Justin McCarthy. M.P. With Photouravure Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. LORD PALMERSTON. By the Marquis of Lorne. Second ];dition. With Photogravure Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6rf. THE EARL OF DERBY. By George Saintsbury. With Photogravure Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3s. Gd. THE EARL OF ABERDEEN. By Baron Stanjiore. With Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3?. (J./. LORD JOHN RUSSELL. By Stu.art J. Reid. Second Edition. With Portrait. Crown 8vo, 3s. Gd. SAINTS AND THEIR SYMBOLS. A Companion in the Churches and Pictnre Galleries of Europe. By E. A. Greene. Ninth Edition, Revised. With sevex'al Illustrations. Cloth extra, gilt, red edges, 3s. 6d. London : SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY, Ltd. St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lane, Fleet Street E-C, By STANLEY LANE-POOLE. THE LIFE OF THE RT. HON. STRATFORD CANNING, VIS- COUNT STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE, K.G. From his Memoirs and Papers. Three Portx-aits. Library Edition. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. sxix. 519; xviii. 475. Popular Edition, pp. xx. 377. THE LIFE OF SIR HARRY PARKES, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., H. B. M. Minister to China and Japan. Portrait and Maps. 2 vols, pp. xxviii. 512 ; xxi. 477. SIR RICHARD CHURCH, C.B., G.C.H., Commander-in-Chief of the Greeks in the War of Independence. With two Plans. Svo, pp. iv. 73. THE LIFE OF EDWARD WILLIAM LANE. Svo, pp. 138. THE SPEECHES AND TABLE-TALK OF THE PROPHET AIOHAMMAD. 18mo, pp. Ixiii. 196. Golden Treasury Series. AURANGZIB. Rulers of India Series. Svo, pp. 212. THE MOHAMMADAN DYNASTIES: Chronological and Genea- logical Tables. Svo, pp. xxviii. 361. THE MOORS IN SPAIN. Illustrated. Svo, pp. xx. 285. TURKEY. Illustrated. Svo, pp. xix. 373. THE BARBARY CORSAIRS. Illustrated. Svo, pp. xviii. 316. THE HISTORY OF THE MOGHUL EMPERORS ILLUSTRAT BY THEIR COINS, pp. clxxvii. STUDIES IN A MOSQUE. Second Edition. Svo, pp. viii. 326. THE ART OF THE SARACENS IN EGYPT. Illustrated. Svo. pp. xviii. 264. Published for the Committee of Council on Education. • CAIRO: SKETCHES OF ITS HISTORY, MONUMENTS, AND SOCIAL LIFE. Illustrated. Svo, pp. xiv. 320. CATALOGUE OF ORIENTAL AND INDIAN COINS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. Printed by order of the Trustees. (Ouvrage couronne par I'lnstitut de France.) Svo, 18 vols. pp. dlxv., 3872. LANE'S ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON. Edited by Stanley Lane- Poole. Imp. 4to, S vols. pj). xcii. 3064. Gilbert & rivington limited ©ricntal, (Tlae^lcal aitb General printers TRANSLATORS, TYPEFOUNDERS, BOOKBINDERS, &c. PKINTERS TO THE EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND, THE BRITISH MUSEUM, INDIA OFFICE, &c., &c. Printing by Moveable Types in any Language, ANCIENT OR MODERN. PRINTERS OF LANE'S ARABIC LEXICON, — SPECIMEN OF TYPE — (HIEROGLYPHICS) imKT\mi-_^i}^%.m ^^nE]X¥"r°^§l .Sg|¥?CMI]f [Cleopatra's Needle (c H5o i aiLUEirr and rivington, limitkik loxdox Specimens oX Z\}vc COPTIC IIIIA IK-mOO- All (UlAi'C; IK; 1 1(;()(|)()(; OVAC: II^AA() All ll<:IC,()()VII lllli-AM. (niK: I lAI AlAOOd .\(; (UUTM l\\nn lA.XU) llllill IIIK:hX)()\ll IIMOOV Al (Mill (HIAyJAAC:. OYerKUJJuiiorf 6 <^qTAOYoq rf'xe ntknoc icjuArcftHC nixpHcocTOJutoc . . . GniCKonoc HTE nKojcTAftTmoYno^Nic 6 nmiuj^ jui npoc|>HTHc uid^Toc k7\^^\.c njeecfiYTHC ARABIC >os»-j-" 0-o-*V^' Os-o-"'*^' Vj '^ J^^-a^Jl TURKISH jV^ JJfr>. ^^^ jj^^ (Jj> u-^' J^ ^j^rr^ (i'^ ■'-i^ >'^0^-^ ol^ t/^^ '^'- '^Ih' CUNEIFORM GILBERT AND HIVINGTON lA„„trd ST. JOHN'S UOUSE, CLEKKEXWELL, LONDON, E.C. RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TO"-^- 202 Main Library LOAN PERIOD HOME USE ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW FEB 1 1 1 987 •Aim).0«sc.WJG25"^ AUG 06 1987 RECEIVED JUL ^ ^ :i RCULAT)QN DLP ' T SEhfrONtLL m 8 vm iJ.C.RFRKEf,g UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 3/80 BERKELEY, CA 94720 vW'^'^*' 6tV