A large silver-inlaid brass candlestick, Mosul, first half 13th century

Ex-private collection, France.

inscriptions

Beneath the eagle and winged lion blazon:

'al-Faris Aqtaya Amir Majlis’

In Kufic around the body:

Benedictory phrases, not fully deciphered

This imposing candlestick is one of only a handful of surviving examples of monumental size and with large-scale figural decoration. The profile and decorative scheme are closely comparable to the earliest dated example of the group in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, signed by Abu Bakr ibn Hajji Jaldak and dated 1225 (inv. no.57.148, see Baer 1983, pp.27 and 32, fig.22).

While the drip tray has been replaced in the Ottoman period, this rare example retains the original neck and mouth. The slightly tapering drum-shaped body imitated by the mouth is a common feature, as is the fretted T-motif found on the neck of this candlestick. Many of the examples displaying figural decoration tend to show an arrangement of figures with lobed roundels (see for example, a candlestick base in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no.91.1.563) whereas the present candlestick encloses the scenes within lobed arches.

This arcade arrangement on a ground of scrolling arabesques, mirrored on the mouth, and flanked above and below by Kufic inscriptions, is almost identical to the Boston candlestick, although the arches here alternate between figures and arabesques. Similar wide outlining to the lobed arches is also found on a tray in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (inv. no.CA-14238, see Soucek 1997, pp.424-5, no.283).

Most notably, the candlestick bears the inscription al-Faris Aqtaya Amir Majlis in a style that is found in Ayyubid and Zangid metalwork, often applied to denote later owners, and a similar inscription is also found on the Boston example. The phrase Amir Majlis was a Mamluk title meaning ‘Guardian of the (Sultan’s) Seat’ and there are two figures named al-Faris Aqtaya corresponding with the latter part of the Ayyubid and early Mamluk rule under al-Malik al-Salih (r.1240-49), both possible owners of this candlestick.

The first is Faris al-Din Aqtay al-Jamdar, a Mamluk of the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt al-Malik al-Salih Ayyub. He was notorious for having taken part in the murder of Turanshah, al-Malik al-Salih’s son and heir, and was subsequently executed by the first Mamluk Sultan Aybak in 1254. The other was appointed to look after Sultan Aybak’s eldest son, al-Mansur ‘Ali and became known as al-Musta’rab. When al-Malik al-Salih lost control of Damascus, Faris al-Din Aqtay travelled to Mosul, entering the service of Badr al-Din Lu’lu’, although how long he spent there remains unknown.

The iconography of the candlestick further suggests an elite connection with an enthroned ruler. Beside this is a variation of the double-headed eagle, a common princely symbol of Jazira and Anatolia in the late twelfth and first half of the thirteenth century. Here, however, the blazon comprises an eagle and a lion. This unusual variation possibly links to a princely figure, fitting of the sophistication of the object.

Illustrations © Julia Jarrett.