Asian and Islamic Cultural Heritage

The General’s Wooden Cabinet

The value of the items is one aspect of their appeal, their background another. When we journey to the Islamic parts of the world, we tend to linger a little longer on the history and the interesting provenances. This is the case, for example, with a large wooden cabinet with bone inlays made during the Mughal dynasty in 17th century India. A small silver plaque on the cabinet reveals that it was owned by the Englishman Garnet Wolseley, who was an influential general. He played a central role in modernising the British army and served in many places around the British Empire throughout his career, including Cairo in the early 1880s, where he purchased the beautiful cabinet.

The Art Is in the Detail

From the Mughal dynasty, we also have a couple of beautiful miniatures depicting the nobility in an almost paradisical environment surrounded by musicians, waiters and fantastic creatures. The miniatures were at one point sold by Austro-Hungarian-born Max Fruchtermann, who made a career for himself in Istanbul in the late 1800s selling postcards with oriental motifs. These postcards soon became valuable collectibles and barter items for visitors to the city, ensuring Fruchtermann a golden livelihood.

The auction also features a collection of 14 miniature portraits from the 18th century, which are said to depict the Moroccan King Mohammed ben Abdallah and his predecessors with their wives. The portraits were once owned by the art-loving public servant Emanuel Rasmus Grove, who served for a number of years as the appointed Danish Secrétaire du Consul to Morocco.

Beautiful Islamic Weaponry

Islamic weaponry is currently in focus in Copenhagen at the violently-themed yet wonderful “Fighting, Hunting Impressing. Arms and Armour from the Islamic World 1500–1850” exhibition at the David Collection. We’re chiming in with two Indian weapons – one is a beautiful Indo-Muslim temple sword that has been part of the Danish collector Peter Salomon’s art collection. The second weapon up for auction, also from a Danish private collection, is an Indian Tulwar sword. The curved blade of the sword was made and signed by the famous 18th century swordsmith Muhammad Baqir Mashhadi. A similar weapon by the same swordsmith is mentioned and depicted in the catalogue for the exhibition at the David Collection. Today, only eight weapons with blades made by him are known to still exist, including the sword up for auction, which makes it a quite rare object.