Ancient Artifact Review 107 : Antique Islamic marble/ tile from Essaouira Morocco ( 19th Century) - بركة محمد (Barakah Muhammad )

 

This is a rare marble slab from most likely the town of Essaouira, Morocco from 18-19th Century. The tile is made from white marble and inscribed with Arabic words, بركة محمد

The inscription looks like  بركة محمد  pronounced as Barakah Muhammad means blessing of Prophet Muhammad.

"Barakat Mohammed" is a sacred term for the inhabitants of Essaouira and you can find this inscription almost everywhere in the town.

The inhabitants of this town adorn their houses, shops, and building with this saacred inscription to invoke blessings.

The establishment of this type of tile dating from 18th century at the foundation of the town by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah al-Qatib ( Mohammed III c. 1710-1790), calling about divine protection of the town. He let build a fortress originally called Souira ("the small fortress"). Later the name was Es-Saouira ("the beautifully made, the picture") Today this town is called Essaouira.

Notice the "Barakat Mohammed" plate on the wall upper right (Souk el Jdid)

Compare this inscription with the calligraphy in the 17th Century Quranic Manuscripts from Morocco :

Kufi Quran Page

Also compare with my other similar tile but for Jews and inscribed in Hebrew :

Jewish Tile Barak

Artifact Specs :

Item : Marble Tile

Content :  بركة محمد  (Barakah Muhammad ) means blessing of Prophet Muhammad.
Dim : 13.5cm x 13.5cm x 2cm
Date : 19th Century CE
Purchased Price :
Reference : Pottery from Morocco 19th-20th Century

Ancient Artifact Review 05 : Antique Malay Jawi Plate (1819-1864 CE)

This is a priceless antique English plate decorated with Malay / Jawi motif & pantun (poems). This plate was manufactured by Williams Adams & Sons company sometime between 1819 CE to 1864 CE. This company was established in the early nineteenth century and great supplier of wares to India & the Far East. The trademark can be seen at the bottom of this plate, written W. Adams And Son under a medallion inside which is inscribed the name of the motif viz MALAY.
"The plate was printed using the process of transfer-printing, which was first used in England around 1750. The design is engraved on a metal plate, then impressed on a thin piece of paper, and transferred to the surface of the pottery or porcelain."

The pantun inscribed on the rims written :
" Suka makan di piring ini,
suatu di ambil dengan jankanya,
kalau suka membeli piring begini,
Anderson Tolson oleh yang punya"


Anderson Tolson is probably a retailing firm in Batavia.
The pantun inscribed 8 lines converging to the centre written :

1) Jikalau boleh kita ingatkan 2) Tertib dan sopan baik kerjakan 3) Jalan istiadat dipeliharakan 4) Supaya jangan membinasakan 5) Tertib suatu itu penghulu 6) Kerna pakaian orang dahulu 7) Barang pekerjaan benar terlalu 8) Masyhur namanya orang pun malu

There is an interesting research & article written by Henri Chambert-Loir from Almanac Indonesia & The Malay World in regards to the this type of plate. It was quite extensive research and dug further to its origin and its design. The handwriting print on this plate belongs to Khatib Muharis. Even though his name is not printed on this plate, there are others with the same handwriting bearing his name. Diameter of this plate is 27cm
Nonetheless the article doesnt have any reference to the 8 poem lines in my plate. Does it mean the plate is rare? If you find any similar plate with the same 8 poetic lines anywhere, please let me know. I would be interested where else has the same plate.

Also thanks to A.N for helping me out figuring out some indechiperable words on this plate.

Reference :
Eating the text : English plates decorated with Malay poems, by Henri Chambert-Loir ( published in Indonesia & The Malay World 1994)

Crescent Moon : Islamic Art & Civilisation South East Asia, pg 78

Ancient Artifact Review 04 : Antique Arabic Brass Key ( 1158 AH)

This is an antique giant brass key dated 1158 AH ( 1745 CE). There is also an arabic inscription of the owner as "Muhammad Bin Muhammad Halabi". Origin is Syria. Dimension is 24cm long & 9 cm width with weight of 340gram. This key probably was a house or a shop key.

Ancient Artifact Review 01 : Antique Brunei / Borneo Kettle ( 1296 AH)

This is a museum piece antiquity from Borneo island. Its a bronze kettle with arabic calligraphy of the Hijra year. Origin is brunei or southern Phillipine. Normally this kettle is used to boil medicines. It is typical used among Malays. Date inscipted is 1296 AH equivalent to 1878 CE. Similar kettle can be seen in National Museum of Malaysia.
Reference document : Islamic Civilization In The Malay World by Mohd Taib Osman, pg 334

 Spec :

Dim : Diameter: 14 cm / 5.5 inches Height: 15 cm / 5.9 inches Width(largest point): 18 cm / 7.1 inches
Weight: 1.8 kg / 3.9 lb

Book Review 04 : Splendours of Quran Calligraphy & Illumination by Martin Lings

Book Info :

Title : Splendours of Quran Calligraphy & Illumination
Author : Martin Lings
Publisher : Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation 2005
Printer : Yon Art Printing Korea
Pages : 365 pages

Review :

This is one of the best books describing the art & calligraphy of antique Quran. It explains the history of the calligraphy evolution in brief. However the ebst part of this book is the plates of selected beautiful antique Quran pages in color. This is an excellent book especially for Quran collector as a reference.
Dr Martin Lings is a famous English Muslim writer. See below excerpt from Wikipedia about him.
Martin Lings (also known as Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din) (January 24, 1909 – May 12, 2005) was an English Muslim writer and scholar, a student and follower of Frithjof Schuon[1], and Shakespearean scholar. He is best known as the author of a very popular and positively reviewed biography, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, first published in 1983 and still in print.
Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment. Lings attended Clifton College and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a BA in English Language and Literature. At Magdalen, he was a student and then a close friend of C. S. Lewis. After graduating from Oxford Lings went to Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.

For Lings himself, however, the most important event whilst at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the René Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert, and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938, Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.[citation needed]

In 1939, Lings went to Cairo, Egypt, in order to visit a friend who was an assistant of René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying Arabic. Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English language teacher at the University of Cairo and produced Shakespeare plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.[citation needed]

Upon returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi (see Sufi studies). After completing his doctorate, Lings worked at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970-73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion.

A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.[2] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died in 2005.

In addition to his writings on Sufism, Lings was a Shakespeare scholar. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a foreword by Charles, Prince of Wales.[citation needed] Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings[3].

Ancient Coin Review 05 : Pohon Pitis ( Tin Pitis Tree) - Sultan Mahmud Shah - Malacca Sultanate ( 1488 - 1511 CE)

This is a museum piece antiquity belongs to Malacca Empire Era during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah ( 1488 - 1511 CE). This is a complete rare “tree” of coins.

Let me provide some insights of this “tree”. During the era of Malacca Sultanate, tin coins or “Pitis” as they were known, were minted in circular shape for use in the local markets.
This tree was moulded by pouring molten tin though an opening in a mould which runs along a central channel into the side branches and finally into the coin moulds where the katun were cast. After the metal had cooled and hardened, the pitis were broken off and the excess metal of the central stem and brances was re smelted for further use.
Comparing this coins’ tree with my other pitis, I could match this pitis with "pitis" as outlined in Saran Singh’s The Encyclopaedia of The Coins of Malaysia Singapore & Brunei, page 5 ( SS7). The obverse was inscribed in Arabic, “Al Sultan Mahmud” means “ The Sultan Mahmud” whereas the reverse of this pitis was inscribed with “ Al SUltan Al Adil” means “The Just Sultan”. It has circular shape with plain edge and typical weight of 2.60 gm each. Diameter range from 22mm. Made of tin and quite rare if with the tree.
I have a handful of these pitis but never with the tree until now.

Ancient Coin Review 04 : Pohon Pitis ( Tin Pitis Tree) - Sultan Mansur Shah- Malacca Sultanate (1456 - 1477 CE)

This is a museum piece antiquity belongs to Malacca Empire Era during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah ( 1456 - 1477 CE). This is a complete rare “tree” of coins.
Let me provide some insights of this “tree”. During the era of Malacca Sultanate, tin coins or “Pitis” as they were known, were minted in circular shape for use in the local markets.
This tree was moulded by pouring molten tin though an opening in a mould which runs along a central channel into the side branches and finally into the coin moulds where the katun were cast. After the metal had cooled and hardened, the pitis were broken off and the excess metal of the central stem and brances was re smelted for further use.
Comparing this coins’ tree with my other pitis, I could match this pitis with "half pitis" as outlined in Saran Singh’s The Encyclopaedia of The Coins of Malaysia Singapore & Brunei, page 4 ( SS3). The obverse was inscribed in Arabic, “mansur Shah bin Muzaffar Shah Al Sultan” means “ The Sultan Mansur Shah son of Muzaffar Shah” whereas the reverse of this pitis was inscribed with “ Nasir Al Dunia Wal Din” means “Helper of the World & The Religion”. It has circular shape with plain edge and typical weight of 1.45-2.70 gm each. Diameter range from 13-15mm. Made of tin and quite rare if with the tree.
I have a handful of these pitis but never with the tree until now.

Ancient Coin Review 03 : Pohon Katun ( Tin Cash tree) - 16th Century of Johor Sultanate

After a few years searching, at last I managed to acquire this museum piece antiquity belongs to Johor Empire Era ( 16th- 19th century). This is a complete “tree” of coins. This is a rare piece as I haven’t seen such a thing in Malaysian museums yet ( probably I haven’t explored enough).
Let me provide some insights of this “tree”. During the era of Johor Sultanate, tin coins or “Katuns” as they were known, were minted in a variety of shapes and sizes for use in the local markets. Some of these circular, others hexagonal or octagonal. A few of them carried full inscriptions indicating that they were intended for Johor, but the majority were inscribed only with the title such as “ Malik Al Adil” ( The Just King).
This tree was moulded by pouring molten tin though an opening in a mould which runs along a central channel into the side branches and finally into the coin moulds where the katun were cast. After the metal had cooled and hardened, the katuns were broken off and the excess metal of the central stem and brances was re smelted for further use.
Comparing this coins’ tree with my other katuns, I could match this katun with type C katun, hexagonal and class IV as outlined in Saran Singh’s The Encyclopaedia of The Coins of Malaysia Singapore & Brunei, page 123 ( SS30). The obverse was inscribed in Arabic, “Haza Al Masruf” means “ This is petty money” whereas the reverse of this katun was inscribed with “ Dar Al Johora” means “ of the city of Johor”. It has hexagonal shape with plain edge and typical weight of 1.7 gm each. Diameter range from 18-20mm. Made of tin and quite rare per se and RRRR if with the tree.
Interestingly, this tree has a “Kris” shape whereas coins’ tree from other Malay empires has a normal straight branch shape. “ Kris” is a asymmetrical dagger/sword indigenous to Malay world. It has a wavy blade.
This piece is absolutely a priceless relic.

Ancient Manuscript Review 01 : Antique Ottoman Quran 1858 C.E

This is an Ottoman-era Quran acquired from Istanbul in 2006.
Scroll down to see the full spec.
The thing that make this Quran interesting is its small size. Its dimension is 140x110mm. Most of Ottoman Qurans in my collections are much bigger ~200x120mm. This Quran is nicely written with one of the most beautiful calligraphy. It's very neat and the illumination is superb. This is one of my favorite collections.


Quran Specs :
Complete Koran
140 x 110 mm
Decorated Hardcover binding
Clear Naskhi script in black ink within a blue/red frame with gold discs between verses
Vowels and diacritical signs are in red & black
Notes in margin
Multicolored Floral medallion at margin
Copiyst : Al Haj Hafiz Waliyuddin As Syukri
Date : 1275 AH ( 1858 AD)

Ancient Coin Review 02 : Sultan Alaudin Riayat Shah 1- Johor Sultanate ( 1527 - 1564CE)

This is a gold coin from Sultan Alaudin Riayat Shah era. He was the son of the last Malacca Sultan, Sultan Mahmud Shah who fled from Malacca after the invasion of Portugese. He became the first ruler of Johor Empire in 1527CE.he set up his capital at Johor Lama situated on the Johor river. He promoted foreign trade and was able to attract a fair amount of commerce. However Johor was captured by Acheh in 1564CE and became its vassal state until the collapse of the Acheh Empire in 1641CE.

Octagonal gold coin ( kupang) under the rule of Johor Sultan Alaudin Riayat Shah 1 (1527-1564AD).

Similar coin was sold for SGD750 ( USD550) in Lot 189 in the Collectibles Auction Asia (CAA) Auction 5/2015 held on 18 April 2015 at Landmark Village Hotel, Singapore.

Obv: Sultan Alaudin
Rev: Khalifatul Mukmin
weight : 0.53gm
Dim : 12mm
Rarity : RR ( ref SS2)

Market Price : USD550

Ancient Coin Review 01 : Sultan Abdullah Haayat Shah - Johore Sultante( 1615-1623CE)

I bought this gold coin of this Johor Sultan in 2006. It costed me a fortune but I am glad I have it finally ( after a few installments). Bought this from a trader in Malacca. It is quite rare coin and listed as RRRR in Saran Singh's Encyclopedia of The Coins of Malaysia Singapore & Brunei, page 116.
Sultan Haayat Shah ruled the Empire of Johore from 1615-1623 CE. He is from the Malacca royal line.

This is a rare gold coin (kupang )from Sultan Abdullah Haayat Shah ( 1615-1623CE) of Johore Sultanate.

Similar coin was sold for SGD1200 ( USD880) in Lot 189 in the Collectibles Auction Asia (CAA) Auction 5/2015 held on 18 April 2015 at Landmark Village Hotel, Singapore.

 



Obv: Sultan Abdullah Shah
Rev : Khalifatul Mukminin
wt: 0.62gm
dim: 14mm

Market Price : USD880

 

Words of Wisdom 01 : You are The One!!

I saw my Lord with the eye of my heart.I said ,” No doubt, You are the One, You are, You are “.
You are the One that has sensed every “where”, where there is no “where” but You.
There is no way for the “where” to know where are You, because there is no “where” except You.
No Imagination can contain You, because it will not be able to find how You are.
Your knowledge encompasses everything and in everything I see Your Oneness.In my annihilation my annihilation was annihilated, and in my annihilated annihilation I found You.