A large late Mamluk brass bowl, Syria or Egypt, late14th-early 15th century, hammered and engraved brass, with slightly rounded base, inverted sides narrowing to rim, the exterior engraved with a large honorific thuluth inscription, alternating with roundels containing blazons on a ground of lotus flowers and leaves, 38.5cm diam. at base. Provenance: Private collection, London, formed in the late 1970s Inscriptions: ‘izz li-mawlana al-sultan al-malik al-‘alim al-‘amil al-‘adil al-mujahid al-murabit al-muthaghir al-mu’ayyad sultan al-islam wa al-muslimin qatil al-kufr wa al-mu[sh]rikin al-Malik al-Mu’ayyad ‘Glory to our Lord, the Sultan, the King, the Learned, the Diligent King, the Just, The Holy-Warrior, the Defender, The Protector of Frontiers, the one Supported [by God], Sultan of Islam and the Muslims, the Slayers of Infidels and Polytheists, the King al-Mu’ayyad’ This inscription could refer to the Rasulid Sultan of Yemen Sultan al-Mu’ayyad Da’ud bin Yusuf (r.1297-1321) or to Sultan al-Malik al-Mu’ayyad Shaykh al-Mahmudi who reigned over Egypt between 1412 and 1421. The blazon within the large circular medallions depicts a stylized penbox suggesting that the basin belonged to or was commissioned by the Dawadar (‘Penbox-Bearer’) of al-Malik al-Mu’ayyad. Please refer to department for condition report