A wooden Mashribiyya screen with figures, Ottoman period, Egypt or Sudan

of rectangular form, comprised of a large central field with a latticework grid with smaller turned pieces framing two standing figures with linked arms, narrow borders above and below made up of small baluster-form elements

ex Galerie Soustiel, Paris

Good overall condition, with some small replacement parts, as viewed.
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Mashribiyya work can be found across the Middle East and North Africa but is typically known as an Egyptian craft, designed for a number of uses; the latticework screen is ideal for offering shade and protection from the hot summer sun whilst at the same time letting cool air flow in from the street; the same design further allows those on the inside to look out but retains privacy at the same time, and in terms of architecture, mashribiyya screens can form a kind of covered balcony, and in doing so correct the shape of upper rooms in a building built on a winding street, maximising the space available.

A further mashribiyya screen with an interior panel worked to form a silhouette can be found in the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, no.526, from the Mosque of Sultan Hasan (see Jones and Michell (Eds.) 1976,  p.291, pl.455), which depicts a minbar and mosque lamp. A sizeable group of mashribiyya screens, including similar examples to those present, are to be found in the Louvre, Paris (see Paris 1988, no.76, pp.128-144)