{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O48775"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O48775/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BH6207/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BH6207/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BH6207","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BH6206","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BH6208","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM6614","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM5897","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM5896","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM5895","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM5894","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011EM5893","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BH6210","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BH6209","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BH6205","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AF6942","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AC5634","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AX3116","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AU0093","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HX0087","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BD9728","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JT7580","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018LA0195","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O48775/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O48775","accessionNumber":"1050:1 to 2-1869","objectType":"Minbar","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"A minbar, or pulpit, stands to the right of the mihrab niche in major mosques. It is used for the sermons delivered during the midday prayer on Friday, the main service of the week.\r\n\r\nSeveral woodworking techniques were used to decorate the structure, as here. Most striking are the panels assembled from hundreds of small, carefully shaped pieces of wood. Many, including this one, are set with carved ivory elements, which highlight the complex geometric designs.\r\n\r\nThe decoration often included carved inscriptions. Here they include the name of Sultan Qa'itbay, who ruled Egypt and Syria from 1468 to 1496. During this time, he earned a reputation for piety. He founded and restored many religious buildings and supplied them with minbars (mosque pulpits).","physicalDescription":"Islamic pulpit, of carved wood, inlaid with ivory.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28674"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"wood","id":"AAT11914"},{"text":"ivory","id":"AAT11857"}],"techniques":[{"text":"inlaid","id":"AAT53850"},{"text":"carving","id":"AAT53149"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Carved wood, inlaid with ivory","categories":[{"text":"Islam","id":"THES48932"},{"text":"Africa","id":"THES49019"}],"styles":[{"text":"Mamluk","id":"AAT21601"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"MES","id":"THES48607"},"images":["2006BH6207","2006BH6206","2006BH6208","2011EM6614","2011EM5897","2011EM5896","2011EM5895","2011EM5894","2011EM5893","2006BH6210","2006BH6209","2006BH6205","2006AF6942","2006AC5634","2006AX3116","2006AU0093","2015HX0087","2006BD9728","2017JT7580","2018LA0195"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"42 (VA)","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"13","shelf":"EXP","box":""},{"current":{"text":"42 (VA)","id":"THES49806"},"free":"","case":"13","shelf":"EXP","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"minbar","id":"AAT3821"}],[{"text":"pulpit","id":"AAT3790"}],[{"text":"minbar","id":"AAT3821"}],[{"text":"pulpit","id":"AAT3790"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Cairo","id":"x28776"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Egypt","id":"x29512"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1468-1496","earliest":"1468-01-01","latest":"1496-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"TN.492-2011","id":"O1241113"},"association":"Part"}],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"708","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"93","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"303","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"700","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"Above doors:\r\n<i>Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with worthy salutation</i>\r\n(Surah XXXIII)\r\n\r\nBack of doors:\r\n<i>Lo! Allah enjoineth justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk</i>\r\n(Surah XVI)","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"Purchased in Paris as part of \"Dr Meymar's Collection\", a group of historic objects sent to France by the Egyptian government, for display at the international exhibition of 1867. In 1869, following discussions at a parliamentary Select Committee in London, the South Kensington Museum (today the V&A) was authorised to buy this collection, with British government funds.\r\n\"Dr Meymar\" was Husayn Fahmi (c.1827-1891), also called Husayn Pasha al-Mi`mar or al-Mi`mari (transliterated as \"Meymar\", meaning architect), a senior official in the Egyptian administration. He was (in 1864) the chief architect of the Majlis al-Tanzim wa'l-Urnatu, a committee in charge of public works in Cairo, and later (1882-5) a member of the Comite de conservation des monuments de l'Art arabe, which oversaw Cairo's historic heritage. Throughout his career, he was responsible for salvage and removal of historic architectural fittings, and for the construction of modern monuments and streets in the Egyptian capital.\nReporting on the 1867 Paris exhibition, Adalbert de Beaumont noted that \"Dr Meymarie\" had recovered decorative woodwork fragments from the mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, damaged during renovations to the mihrab area.","historicalContext":"Sultan Qa'itbay sponsored a great revival of the arts in Egypt and Syria during his long reign, especially the production of objects used to adorn mosques. This minbar (pulpit), a masterpiece of Islamic woodwork, was part of that program and bears inscriptions with Qa'itbay's name and titles. The decorative scheme is a time-honoured one consisting of central stars which \"radiate\" intersecting polygons. The design has been carefully assembled like a mosaic from precisely cut strips of wood, then ornamented with materials of subtly contrasting colors, such as ivory and ebony, to create a beautifully integrated ensemble.","briefDescription":"Minbar (Islamic pulpit) made for Sultan Qa'itbay, Cairo, Egypt, 1468-1496","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"Tim Stanley (ed.), with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, <i>Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East</i>, London, V&A Publications, 2004","id":"AUTH351313"},"details":"pp.24, 28, 37, 100","free":""}],"production":"Dating is based on the attribution to Qaitbay's reign .","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[{"text":"Cairo","id":"x28776"}],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Husayn Fahmi","id":"AUTH346641"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[{"text":"Paris Exhibition, 1867","id":"V34"}],"contentOthers":[{"text":"stars","id":"AAT9811"},{"text":"polygons","id":"AAT55633"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Jameel Gallery \r\n\r\nMinbar for Sultan Qa’itbay \r\nEgypt, probably Cairo\r\n1468–96\n\r\nA minbar, or pulpit, is used for the sermons delivered during the midday prayer on Friday, the main service of the week. \r\n\r\nSeveral woodworking techniques were used to decorate the structure. Most striking are the panels assembled from hundreds of small, carefully shaped pieces of wood. Carved ivory elements highlight the complex geometric designs. \r\n\r\nSultan Qa’itbay, who ruled Egypt from 1468 to 1496, is named in several of the inscriptions. \n\r\nCedar with inlay of ivory and wood, traces of paint and gilding\n\r\nMuseum no. 1050-1869\n\r\n","date":{"text":"2010","earliest":"2010-01-01","latest":"2010-12-31"}},{"text":"Jameel Gallery \r\n\r\nMinbar for Sultan Qa'itbay\r\nEgypt, probably Cairo\r\n1468-96\r\n\r\nA minbar, or pulpit, is placed to the right of the mihrab niche in major mosques. It is used for the sermons delivered during the midday prayer on Friday, the main service of the week. \r\n\r\nSeveral woodworking techniques were used to decorate the structure. Most striking are the panels assembled from hundreds of small, carefully shaped pieces of wood. Many are set with carved ivory elements, which highlight the complex geometric designs.\r\n\r\nThe name of Sultan Qa'itbay, who ruled Egypt and Syria from 1468-96, appears in several of the inscriptions. \r\n\r\nCedar with joined, carved, turned and fretted decoration, inlay of carved plaques of ivory, wood and ivory mosaic work, and traces of paint and gilding\r\n\r\nMuseum no. 1050-1869","date":{"text":"2006-2009","earliest":"2006-01-01","latest":"2009-12-31"}},{"text":"MIMBAR (pulpit)\r\nWood inlaid with ivory. Erected by the Sultan Qaitbay in his mosque in Cairo.\r\nEGYPTIAN (MAMLUK); end of the 15th century.","date":{"text":"Used until 11/2003","earliest":"2003-11-01","latest":"2003-11-30"}}],"partNumbers":["1050:1-1869","1050:2-1869"],"accessionNumberNum":"1050","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1869,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Minbar","Minbar part"],"assets":["2026PP4245","2026PM4136","2019LU5914"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-28","recordCreationDate":"2000-10-06","availableToBook":false}}