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He was a member of the Rasulid dynasty, which had close connections with the Mamluk sultans of Cairo. They may have sent the box as a gift. \r\n\r\nThe box bears the Rasulid badge of a five-petalled rosette, which has been inlaid over an earlier device of an eagle with outstretched wings. This later work took place either in Yemen or Egypt.\r\n\r\nMetalworkers often transformed objects made from brass by adding sophisticated inlaid surface ornament. For larger motifs, they chiselled out small areas of brass and filled them with thin sheets of silver, gold and copper. They added detail by chasing the surface of the softer metals created contrast with a black filler, as on this piece. ","physicalDescription":"Rectangular writing box, brass, raised from sheet, engraved and inlaid with gold and silver and a black compound, the silver chased with additional details. The decoration includes repeated use of the large rosette that was the heraldic device of the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen, the name and titles of Sultan Da'ud (r. 1296-1321), and the date 702 in the Muslim calendar, equivalent to 1302–3. Interior elements were re-used from an earlier writing box made for the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun (r. 1279–1290) or a member of his family, probably in the 1280s. The interior was reconfigured at a much later date, when two custom-made inkwells and a sand box were inserted. The hinges and the fastening device (a staple and a hasp) are also of a later date.\n\n","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"brass","id":"AAT10946"},{"text":"gold","id":"AAT11021"},{"text":"silver","id":"AAT11029"}],"techniques":[{"text":"hammered","id":"AAT54098"},{"text":"inlay","id":"AAT53850"},{"text":"niello","id":"AAT54022"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Brass inlaid with gold and silver and a black compound","categories":[{"text":"Islam","id":"THES48932"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Africa","id":"THES49019"}],"styles":[{"text":"Mamluk","id":"x34993"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"MES","id":"THES48607"},"images":["2006AY5403","2006AY5409","2006AY5404","2015HN9448","2015HN9449","2015HN9450","2015HN9451","2015HN9452","2015HN9453","2015HN9454","2015HN9455","2015HN9456","2015HN9457","2015HN9458","2015HN9459","2015HN9460","2015HN9461","2015HN9462","2015HN9463","2015HN9464","2015HN9465","2015HN9466","2015HN9467","2015HN9468","2015HN9469","2015HN9470","2015HN9471","2015HN9472","2015HN9473","2015HN9474","2015HN9475","2015HN9476","2015HN9477","2015HN9478","2015HN9479","2015HN9480","2015HN9481","2015HN9482","2015HN9483","2015HN9484","2015HN9485","2015HN9486","2015HN9487","2015HN9488","2015HN9489","2015HN9490","2015HN9491","2015HN9492","2015HN9493","2015HN9494","2015HN9495","2015HN9496","2015HN9497","2015HN9498","2015HN9499","2015HN9500","2015HN9501","2015HN9502","2015HN9503","2015HN9504","2015HN9505","2015HN9506","2015HN9507","2015HN9508","2015HN9509","2015HN9510","2015HN9511","2023NN2554","2023NN2555","2023NN2556","2023NN2557","2023NN2558"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"42","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"2E","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"42","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"2E","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"42","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"2E","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"42","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"2E","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Writing box","id":""}],[{"text":"Inkwell","id":""}],[{"text":"Inkwell","id":""}],[{"text":"Sand box","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Egypt","id":"x29512"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Yemen","id":"x36421"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1280s","earliest":"1280-01-01","latest":"1289-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"date":{"text":"1302-1303","earliest":"1302-01-01","latest":"1303-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Dated AH 702, equivalent to the period between 26 August 1302 and 14 August 1303."}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"12.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"34.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Diameter","value":"17.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"When open","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"A. On top of the lid\r\nعزّ لمولانا السلطان الملك المؤيّد العالم العادل هزبر الدنيا والدين داوود بن مولانا السلطان الشهيد الملك المظفّر","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Glory to our Lord the Sultan al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad, the wise, the just, Hizabr al-Dunya wa 'l-Din Dawud, son of our Lord the martyred Sultan al-Malik al-Muzaffar","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"B Around the sides of the lid\r\nعزّ لمولانا السلطان الملك المؤيّد العالم العادل المجاهد المرابط المثاغر هزبر الدنيا والدين داوود بن مولانا السلطان (ا)لشهيد الملك المظفّر ابن مولانا السلطان الشهيد الملك المنصور عزّ نصره عُملت في سنة إثنين وسبعمائة","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Glory to our Lord the Sultan al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad, the wise and just, strenuous in war, ever ready for the defence <of Islam>, protector of the frontiers, Hizabr al-Dunya wa 'l-Din Dawud, son of our Lord the martyred Sultan al-Malik al-Muzaffar, son of our Lord the martyred Sultan al-Malik al-Mansur -- May his victory be glorified! It was made in the year seven hundred and two.","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"C On the inside of the lid\r\nعزّ لمولانا السلطان الملك المؤيّد العالم العادل هزبر الدنيا والدين داوود عزّ نصره","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Glory to our Lord the Sultan al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad, the wise and just, Hizabr al-Dunya wa 'l-Din Dawud -- May his victory be glorified!","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"D On the base of the box, inside\r\nإذا ما شئت أن تحيا حياة سهلة المحيا فلا تحسد ولا تحقد ولا تغتر بالدنيا","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"If you wish to live an easy life, then do not be envious, nor hold grudges, nor be deceived by the world.","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"<b>Provenance</b>\nPurchased in Istanbul in 1897 from Mrs Alice Whitaker, daughter and heir of William Henry Wrench (1836-96). Wrench was British consul in the city when he died, and he had formed a significant collection of Ottoman and Iranian objects while in the consular service. For images of how Wrench displayed his collection in his home in the Pera (Beyoğlu) district of the city, see V&amp;A: PH.331 to 334-1892. ","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Rectangular writing box, brass, inlaid with silver, gold and a black material, made, probably in Cairo, for Sultan Da'ud of Yemen (r. 1296–1321) and  dated AH 702, equivalent to AD 1302–3, with internal elements from an earlier inlaid brass writing box, attributed to the 1280s, as well as other parts of a much later date, including two custom-made inkwells and a sand box, the hinges and the fastening also of a much later date.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Rachel Ward, “Green or Mean? Mamluk vessels recycled for the Rasulid sultans”, in <i>Art, Trade and Patronage in the Islamic World and Beyond. From the Fatimids to the Mughals. Studies presented to Doris Behrens-Abouseif,</i> edited by Alison Ohta, J.M. Rogers and Rosalind Wade-Haddon, London, 2016, 36–47."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Noha Sadek, \"Red Rosettes: Colors of Power and Piety in Rasulid Yemen\", in Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair, editors, <i>And Diverse are Their Hues: Color in Islamic Art and Culture</i>, New Haven and London, 2011, pp.222-243.\r\n"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Unique","id":"THES48864"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Jameel Gallery \n\nWriting Box\r\nEgypt \r\nDated 1302\r\n\r\nThe lid carries the name of Sultan Dawud of Yemen. His dynasty, the Rasulids, had close connections with the Mamluk sultans of Cairo, who may have sent the box as a gift. Either in Yemen or Egypt, the Rasulids' badge, a five-petalled rosette, was inlaid over an earlier device, an eagle with outstretched wings.\r\n\r\nBrass with inlay of silver, gold and a black composition; the ink pots and sand pot are later replacements\r\n\r\nMuseum no. 370 to C-1897","date":{"text":"Jameel Gallery","earliest":"2006-07-20","latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["370-1897","370A-1897","370B-1897","370C-1897"],"accessionNumberNum":"370","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1897,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Writing box","Inkwell [1]","Inkwell [2]","Sand box"],"assets":["2017KC7791","2019LR5020","2019LR3822","2019LU0111","2023NN3276","2023NN3278","2023NN3279","2023NN3280","2023NN3281"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-08","recordCreationDate":"2005-01-13","availableToBook":false}}