A LATE 19TH CENTURY EGYPTIAN SILVER BOWL, CAIRO, CIRCA 1890 ...

Estimate

£500 - £750

A LATE 19TH CENTURY EGYPTIAN SILVER BOWL, CAIRO, CIRCA 1890
BY MADAT GHAZAROSYAN
Of scalloped circular form, raised on a spreading circular foot, the surface decorated with finely executed flat-chased rosettes within lozenge motifs, marked to the centre with the maker’s mark and standard mark ٩٠.
Together with:
A small Egyptian silver dish, of shaped oval form, decorated with flat-chased rosettes and architectural scenes. Marked with the maker’s mark Kusyan Ihvan and standard mark ٩٠.

Diameter – 18.2 cm / 7.2 inches
Weight – 317 grams / 10.19 ozt A twin-handled tray by Madat Ghazarosyan was sold at Christie’s London, 26 April 2013, lot 853, for £1,625 (including premium).
The maker Kusyan Ihvan is noted as being from either Aleppo or Damascus in Kurkman, G. (1996), Ottoman Silver Marks (Istanbul: Mathusalem, p.91), though it is now understood to be an Egyptian silversmith.
These Egyptian marks were likely used by Armenian silversmiths during the ‘Veiled Protectorate’ of the British Empire over Egypt (1882-1914). The rare lion passant mark is thought to have been introduced during the reign of Khedive Abbas Helmy II (1892-1914), following the passage of a second precious metals law that supplemented the earlier Gashanjy Law (1847), enacted under Khedive Abbas I. This law regulated the marking process and set silver standards at 900/800/600/450, though marking was not mandatory.
These marks are believed to date back to the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I (1839–1861) and Sultan Abdulaziz (1861–1876), with the lion passant mark likely in use from 1847. The system was revised in 1916, when hallmarking became compulsory, replacing the lion with a catfor silver and a standing ibis for gold, while maintaining the same silver standards and abolishing the 450 standard.