Lidded brass box, engraved and inlaid with silver

There are a number of little boxes of this type inlaid with silver that are similar in size to contemporary cylindrical boxes made of ivory and were probably intended to hold fragrant substances. We do not know the purpose of the metal boxes, but the distinctive Arabic inscriptions make it clear that that they belonged to important men: “the exalted majesty, the master, the great emir, the royal.”

The decoration, which is characteristic of the period, can be considered almost an international Islamic style. The cheerful little birds with wings spread and the six-armed, swastika-like ornaments are found on work from e.g. Egypt, Syria, and western Iran.