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Candlestick Base

Egyptian (Artist)

Zayn al-Din Kitbugha (Egyptian, reigned 1294-1296) (Patron)

ca. 1290 (Mamluk; Bahri)

brass, inlaid with silver, gold, copper
(Islamic World )

Throughout Islamic history, sultans, princes, and court officials have been active art patrons. This impressive candlestick base was commissioned by Zayn al-Din Kitbugha, who served as saqi, official cupbearer, at the court of the Mamluks in Egypt before ascending the throne in 1294. The heraldic emblem of Kitbugha’s office, a stemmed cup (inscribed in a circle), features prominently in the candlestick’s decoration. Despite its elaborate design, Kitbugha used the candlestick in his household storeroom or pantry.

This base was originally combined with a neck and socket—today in Cairo—which together could bear the weight of a single monumental candle.

Inscription

[Transcription] Inscribed base and neck: Zayn al-Din Kitbugha; [Translation] Inscribed base in thuluth script: This is one of the things made for the servery of the lofty authority, the lordly, the great amir, the conqueror, the holy warrior, the just, al-Zayni, Zayn al-Din Kitbugha al-Mansuri al-Ashrafi (of the households of the sultans Qalawun and Khalil)

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.**

Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Exhibitions

1998-2001	Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1981-1983	Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford.
1976	The Arts of Islam. Hayward Gallery, London.

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Geographies

Egypt (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 10 7/16 x Diam: 12 13/16 in. (26.5 x 32.5 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters, 1925

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Third Floor: Medieval Mediterranean

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

54.459

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Candlestick Base

Inscription

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.**

Exhibitions

Geographies

Measurements

Credit Line

Location in Museum

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

Do you have additional information?

Hours

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Candlestick Base

Inscription

Provenance Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Exhibitions

Geographies

Measurements

Credit Line

Location in Museum

Accession Number In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

Do you have additional information?

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.**

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.