If you ever set your eyes on this rare and beautiful ewer, a carved rock crystal from the Fatimid Royal
Treasury, you won't be able to peel your eyes off it. Apart from being mesmerizing, this piece of art from the
Islamic world dates back to the late 10Th to early 11Th century AD. Good news for rich art lovers is that ewer
will be offered at the strongest sale of Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds ever staged at Christie’s, on
Tuesday 7 October 2008. It is amongst one of the only seven fully carved known surviving examples. Also, an
ewer like this has never been up for sale in an open market before. Beauty and rarity are an expensive
combination and the estimated price of the ewer is over $5.3 million. It is an object of desire from historic
times and rightly so. Its beauty is enhanced as it is further embellished with enamelled gold mounts, made in
1854, by the French silversmith Jean-Valentin Morel, who was appointed Goldsmith to Queen Victoria in 1852.
All you art collectors better get in line and get your funds together, this Islamic ewer from Cairo is not
something you will want to let slip out of your reach.
by kim, posted September 26, 2008 - 7:39 AM in Auctions | Comments ()