Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Middle Eastern: Metalwork (3)

The incense burner consists of a thick and solid cast bronze cup which rests on a tripod base also in cast bronze. A cut copper cover is held by a hinge fixed by rivets. Islamic work from the middle east. Very nice old patina of the metal. Bronze very earlier than the 18th century. H:21cm. A hole on the lid (see photo) otherwise good condition.

The body of the ewer seems in embossed rather than cast bronze because the walls are very thin, however the neck and the handle are in cast bronze and very thick. The decor is incised with a character fighting a snake, details are inlaid in gold. 3 fantastic animals are arranged on the sides on either side of the ewer, they are treated in high relief and seem to be in solid bronze and to be one with the body of ewer because we do not see any welding or rivets. The animals are also encrusted with thick gold wire. Islamic characters surround the upper and lower body of the ewer. There are areas that have been restored, missing pieces have been replaced. This is visible on photos but as it is not obvious I can, on request, make a complete inventory and highlight the photos. There is a beautiful old true patina. The fact that there are very thin parts and other very thick ones lead me to suppose that this is a composition with made late in the 19th century with antiques elements. The animals seem older to me than the rest and don't look Islamic. Height about 30 cm.

Leather wallet embroidered with silver threads. The work is surprising, it is not an embroidery of the usual silver threads which are silk threads covered with a thin silver ribbon rolled up but real silver threads created by craftsmanship by stretching the metal at the "pulling bench". On the enlarged photos you can appreciate the work and the section of the wires. There are thousands of them, it was a colossal job, the wallet is heavy. The arabesque decor surrounds Islamic characters. The interior is decorated with openwork in the leather. At first we had thought of Turkish work, but the use of solid silver thread was surprising. The discovery inside the wallet of an admirably calligraphic business card, written in French and dated 1907 tells us that around 1900 this wallet was in Algiers which was before the arrival of the French under Ottoman domination. It is therefore likely that it is an Algerian work from the end of the 19th century. Good condition, no lack of threads, soft leather but split in the middle at the place of the fold as can be seen in the photo which does not alter the solidity of the object because the leather is doubled. Treated with neats foot oil. Dimensions: 160x110x15mm