AN ENGRAVED VENETO-SARACENIC BRASS BOWL
Possibly Egypt or Syria, 15th - 16th century

Of compressed globular shape, resting on a flat plain base, with a reinforced circular rim, the exterior heavily engraved with a variety of motifs typical of the Veneto-Saracenic metal production, including interlocking circular and cusped medallions filled with arabesques and vegetal trellis, rectangular cartouches filled with epigraphic inscriptions against a cross-hatched ground, two narrow bands of interlocking split palmette trellis framing the composition, the interior tinned and engraved with cusped medallions filled with vegetal sprays and rosettes, the base plain except for several concentric circles decreasing in size towards the centre, 7.5cm high and 19.5cm diam.