Mamluk bowl (left) and two buckets (right)
- Object Name
- Mamluk bowl (left) and two buckets (right)
- Culture / Site
- Bowl: Mamluk period (1250-1517), manufactured in Egypt or Syria; Bucket (right back), possibly manufactured in Egypt; Bucket (right front) manufactured in Durbi Takusheyi; excavated at Tumulus 7, Durbi Takusheyi
- Medium
- Brass
- Date
- late 14th/15th century
- Dimensions
- Bowl: 15.7 x 41.1 cm; Bucket (right back): 15 x 16 cm; Bucket (right front): 15.5 x 18 cm
- Credit Line
- National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja, Nigeria. Photograph by René Müller
- Section
- The Long Reach of the Sahara/The Central Sudan and Durbi Takusheyi
- Description
This Mamluk bowl, which was made in Egypt or Syria, was recovered from a burial at Durbi Takusheyi, Nigeria. The decorative patterns and Arabic inscription that encircle the bowl were originally inlaid with silver and gold, and placed within it were five pieces of gold jewelry, possibly imported from the Western Sudan region, as well as cowrie shells, and brass and silver armlets. In the Mamluk Sultanate, vessels like this were made by specialized metalworkers, the nahassin, for the society’s elite who used them as spectacular display pieces and diplomatic gifts. Several Mamluk-period brass bowls have also been preserved at shrines in northern Ghana, to the west of Durbi Takusheyi. These objects are evidence of active trade in luxury wares across the Sahara from the Mamluk Sultantate (1250-1517).