Ab extremely rare mamluk silver inlaid calligraphic brass candlestick an extremely rare islamic early mamluk calligraphic brass & silver inlaid brass candlestick, Egypt, circa 13TH/14th century. base of waisted form leading to slightly reduced foot, cylindrical neck tapering to inverted mouth surmounting a short drip-pan, base section with a large band of thuluth calligraphy against a vegetal ground separated by two circular blazons, shoulder and neck with various vegetal designs, mouth with smaller band of calligraphy, interior with identification sticker, Measurement: 19cm height, 16cm diam . provenance: Ex-collection Theron j. Damon, on loan to the Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts, since 1940 literaturel.a. Mayer, Saracenic Heraldry, reprint, Oxford, 1999, p.240 and pl.XXII, 1 and 2.catalogue note inscriptions With the blazon of a cup in the central register Around the neck:‘One of what was made for the High authority, al-Sayfi (Sayf al-Din) Haji ? ‘Pilgrim’) the cup-bearer of [al-malik] al-Nasir (i.e Muhammad Ibn Qalawun)’Around the body:‘One of what was made for the High authority, al-Sayfi (Sayf al-Din) Turji ?, the cup-bearer of [al-Malik] al-Nasir (i.e Muhammad Ibn Qalawun)’L.A. Mayer, who worked from photographs of the piece when it was in the collection of Mr. Theron Damon, Robert College Constantinople, describes Turji as: “s. Turji, one of the Mamluks of Muhammad b. Qalaun, originally his cup-bearer, later silahdar, elevated by him to the rank of an Amir Majlis. In 719 (1319) and 725 (1325) leader of the pilgrimage. Died on the 5th Rabi ii 731 (16th January 1331” (Mayer 1999, p.240).The word haji (pilgrim) indicates that the piece must date post-1319 or 1325 and before Turji's position was changed to Amir Majlis or Silah-Dar (no dates given by Mayer), when his blazon must have also changed.