SULTAN QALAWOON TABLES

This hexagonal brass table is a replica of one of a pair of tables, or karasi, on display at the Islamic Museum in Cairo, originally designed in 1327 by Muhammad Ibn Sunqur for Sultan Al Nasir ibn Qalawoon. They were, according to Stanley Lane-Poole, "used to support a tray...on which the Sultan's repasts, and wine service that followed were spread in the usual Eastern manner."

Etched and perforated sheet brass panels covering the sides of a wooden frame are divided into etched and perforated plaques. The upper rectangular plaque on each panel contains a calligraphic inscription of the Islamic Declaration of Faith: "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah".

The square plaque beneath the calligraphic inscription contains two alternating designs, one formed of a medallion of concentric circles on a geometric field. The meander band enclosing the circle loops around four roundels containing calligraphic inscriptions. The upper and lower roundels read: "Always Prosperity".

The roundels on the right and left read: "And from the evil of the envier when he envies".

The outer circle contains a floral pattern. The inner circle contains the Light Verse from the Holy Qur'an, its epicenter containing the first lines of the verse: "Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth".

The alternating design is of a classical arched double door with foliate and geometric arabesques surrounding circular medallions, which contain the inscription: "Always Prosperity".

This inscription is repeated on the lower panel at the corners of a geometric field. The upper calligraphic plaque is repeated below, separating the upper square plaque from the lower plaque containing an open arch design with geometric and foliate patterns from which the table legs extend. The six legs are of cast brass.

The table is designed so that light can be placed inside the frame to illuminate the perforated patterns.

The hexagonal tabletop is covered with etched and perforated sheet brass set into a raised frame also covered in sheet brass. The hexagonal plate is intricately etched with a central hexagonal pattern containing an inscription at each point of the hexagon, which reads: "Always Prosperity".

The surrounding hexagonal band is formed of plaques containing the calligraphic inscription: "Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal. He does not slumber, nor does He sleep."

TABLE 38

 

The second Sultan Qalawoon table, designed by Ibn Sunqur for Sultan Al Nasir ibn Qalawoon, has an etched and perforated design in which geometric and foliate patterns replace calligraphic inscriptions. The upper rectangular plaque on every other panel is formed of a twelve-sided geometrical star on a field of foliate arabesque, flanked above and below by large interlacing roundels with quatrefoil ornaments. The alternating rectangular plaque contains a rounded star set into the same surrounding design. The lower plaque is formed of an incised, rounded arch with a field of Mamluki foliate arabesque with five floral roundels. Again, the table legs extend from the arch. The tabletop is ornamented with a geometrical design, which echoes the motifs on the side panels.

TABLE 38-A