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Good day
I posted this year's back but it seems the pictures went missing. This tray was made in 1935 in the city of Omdurman (أم درمان). I am still trying to get the maker from the Arabic writing on it. It is 20cm in diameter and weigh 316 grams.
In the inner circle it reads "mabrouk" مبروك which means "blessed/blessings" or "congratulations" and 1935 ١٩٣٥
In the outer circle it reads "mabrouk alaik - shughghal fi omdurman" مبروك عليك شغّل في ام دورمان. I think a reasonable translation would be "blessings on you, made in Omdurman"
I don't see a personal name. Is there anything on the back?
Damon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 7:48 pm
Hello Jannie
In the inner circle it reads "mabrouk" مبروك which means "blessed/blessings" or "congratulations" and 1935 ١٩٣٥
In the outer circle it reads "mabrouk alaik - shughghal fi omdurman" مبروك عليك شغّل في ام دورمان. I think a reasonable translation would be "blessings on you, made in Omdurman"
I don't see a personal name. Is there anything on the back?
Hope this helps
Regards
Damon
Thank you Damon for the translation, been struggling with getting help with it. The back has no markings. I hope the front would have some name. I do find pieces with similar patterns on the web but not a lot of information.
Correct. There is almost no information available about Sudanese silverwork. I too find several similar pieces on the web dating between 1922 and 1950.
Saad Al Jadir, in his book Arabic and Islamic Silver (Stacey International 1981) says that Sudanese work is characterized by calligraphy and floral patterns covering only a small portion of the surface area. That is certainly true for all the pieces from Omdurman which we see on the web.
There is a Sudan Open Archive on line and (although I have lost the specific link) I read that the population of Omdurman grew rapidly after WWI and there were many English, Greeks and Armenians living in the city. I am sure that these pieces of Omdurman silver work were made for the European market between 1918 and independence in 1956.
