1950s Pair of Bronze Enameled Asian Trays

Vintage 1950s Spanish framed repoussé hammered low-relief scene of Jesus Christ giving communion.

1950s bag with embroidery and silk.

1950s Spanish iron suit of armour on a green serpentine marble pedestal. Two locked compartments on the breast plate accessible from the front. Suit of armour dimensions: 175 x 60 x...

1950s Spanish metal dog toy with ball.

Tray table in beech. Designed and made in Denmark in the 1950s. Great original condition.

Beautiful large square tray in silver and glass made in Italy in the first half of the 1950s. The tray has a glass base that rests on the silver base, the structure is very particul...

Teak tray designed by Jens Harald Quistgaard for Dansk Designs during the 1950s. Two handles at the sides. Stamped by maker on the underside. Good untouched vintage condition with li...

This exceptionally beautiful and rare silver-inlaid brass tray stand dates from the medieval period, when the Mamluks ruled Egypt and Syria (1250-1517). The Mamluks originated as slave-soldiers, who served the Muslim caliphs and Ottoman Empire. With time, the Mamluks became a powerful military caste, and they managed to take control and establish themselves as rulers of certain areas within the Abbasid caliphate. The Mamluk dynasty commissioned great works of art and architecture, particularly in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, which was described in the 14th Century as ‘the centre of the universe and garden of the world’ (Ibn Khaldun, 1382). This tray stand is of biconical form, with a raised central band and flared base and rim. It is decorated with scrolling vines, overlaid with Thuluth inscriptions and roundels. On the lower body, the roundels contain floral motifs, and in the upper, stylised depictions of birds. The Thuluth inscriptions praise the patron, referring to him as ‘The High authority, the Lordly, the Possessor’, and ‘the learned’. The underside of the rim is engraved with a heraldic medallion, possibly the patron’s symbol. In the middle ages, when this piece was made, this item would have stood in a grand interior, supporting a tray full of fruit and fine food. The owner of this lavish piece which still bears traces of its original silver inlay would likely have been an Amir (prince) or some other important figure who was close to the Sultan in the Mamluk court. Mamluk tray...