Islamic Art and Fine Objects
Lot 40:
Description
This 19th-century Ottoman Islamic alam, or architectural finial, is constructed from gilded metal. The piece features a sculpted body with a succession of convex and concave profiles, tapering from a wide hemispherical foot to a central baluster-shaped stem. The structure is surmounted by a large crescent moon enclosing an integrated eight-pointed star. Historically, such elements have designated and recalled architectural features crowning minarets, mosque domes, or minbars since the advent of Islam and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.
Provenance: The collection of HRH Prince Osman Ibrahim of Egypt (1951-2025), son of HRH Amr Ibrahim of Egypt and HRH Princess Nejla Hibetullah Sultan (Necla Osmanoglu) of Turkey, who was the granddaughter of the last Caliph Abdulmejid II and Sultan Mehmed VI.
Height: 17.8 cm
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