A rare view of the Qa'ba and the city of Mecca North India, probably Delhi, circa 1840-60 gouache on ivory 105 x 215 mm. Footnotes: Provenance Formerly in a private UK collection: apparently acquired in London in 1973 (according to a handwritten label on the backboard). This unusual bird's-eye view of the Qa'ba and the city of Mecca as it appeared in the middle of the 19th Century is of high quality, and is very similar (with some differences in details but from an identical viewpoint) to a painting in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic art, by the Indian artist Muhammad Abdallah, and dated to circa 1845 - a work on paper of large size (62.8 x 88 cm.). See V. Porter (ed.), Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, London 2012, frontispiece (detail); and N. D. Khalili, Visions of Splendour in Islamic Art and Culture, London 2005 & 2008, front and back endpapers. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: Y Ф Y Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the EU, see clause 13. Ф This lot contains or is made of ivory. The United States Government has banned the import of ivory into the USA. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com