Arts of the Islamic World & India

An Ottoman metal-thread embroidered leather wallet, Constantinople, dated 1772 AD

Estimate

5,000 - 8,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

of rectangular form with folding cover, embroidered with cross-hatched cartouches and acanthus leaves, the front inscribed 'Antoine Laffon' the inside inscribed ‘Constantinople 1772’

10.5 by 16.3cm.

Eighteenth-century European fascination with Turquerie fuelled the popularity of Ottoman souvenirs. Travellers commonly returned home with finely embroidered wallets, often inscribed with the city and date of manufacture, as tangible mementos of their journeys. This wallet bears the name Antoine Laffon (?) on the exterior and is inscribed Constantinople 1772 on the interior, offering personalised glimpse into the cross-cultural exchanges of the period. A wallet of closely comparable embroidered decoration is in the Ömer M. Koç Collection, see Bilgi 2022, pp.138-9, no.35.

‘Ala’-al-Din Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Abi al-Hazm al-Qarshi, known as Ibn al-Nafis (d.1288-89), Sharh tashrih Qanun Ibn Sina (A commentary on the anatomy in Al-Qanun of Ibn Sina), probably Iraq, Ilkhanid, dated 20 Sha'ban 734 AH/3 May 1334 AD

Estimate: 200,000 - 300,000 GBP

An impressive illuminated Qur'an volume, attributable to Ya'qut al-Musta'simi, probably Baghdad, Iraq, late 13th century

Estimate: 100,000 - 150,000 GBP

Abu 'Abdullah al-Quda'i (d.1062 AD), Kitab shihab al-akhbar (on Prophetic traditions), copied by 'Ali ibn Sharwan ibn 'Ali al-Qazwini, probably Iraq, late Ilkhanid or early Jalayirid, dated 10 Shawal 741 AH/5 April 1341 AD

Estimate: 70,000 - 90,000 GBP

A large Mamluk brass candlestick, made for Sayf al-Din Hatim Dawadar, Egypt, circa 1500

Estimate: 50,000 - 80,000 GBP

A fragment of a door panel with cup-bearer blazon, Syria, Mamluk, 15th century, or later

Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 GBP

A rare illuminated Qur'an juz' (XXV), copied by 'Asadullah Kirmani, Persia or Turkey, Timurid or Ottoman, circa 1475

Estimate: 50,000 - 80,000 GBP

A gold and silver-inlaid brass bowl, Mosul, Jazira, 13th century

Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 GBP

A royal sword (saif) dedicated to King Saud ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia (r.1953-64) with scabbard, signed ‘Abd Allah al-Akwa, Yemen, Sanaa, dated AH 1375/1955-56 AD

Estimate: 70,000 - 100,000 GBP

A large and impressive illuminated Qur'an, Persia, Safavid, 16th century; with Mughal illumination, early 18th century

Estimate: 400,000 - 600,000 GBP

An enamelled and nielloed brass and silver-gilt binding, Central Asia, possibly Bukhara, late 19th/early 20th century

Estimate: 8,000 - 12,000 GBP