|
Muhammad ibn al-Zayn [Muh`ammad ibn al-Zayn; Ibn al-Zayn]
( fl early 14th century). Arab metalworker. He is known from signatures on two undated inlaid wares, the Baptistère de St Louis (Paris, Louvre, LP 16; see ISLAMIC ART, fig. 153, signed in six places) and the Vasselot Bowl (Paris, Louvre, MAO 331, signed once). His style is characterized by bold compositions of large figures encrusted with silver plaques on which details are elaborately chased. His repertory develops themes characteristic of later 13th-century metalwork from Mosul (see ISLAMIC ART, §IV, 3(ii) and (iii))—mounted or enthroned rulers, bands of running or prowling animals, an elaborate Nilotic composition, courtiers bearing insignia of office, and battle scenes on scroll grounds with strikingly naturalistic fauna. His work is marked by a realism of facial expression, in which Turco-Mongolian physiognomy, dress, headgear and even coiffure are prominent, and a vigour of movement, gesture or stance that enlivens and transforms even the running animals and rows of standing courtiers, some in Frankish costume. The technique and style of these pieces allow their attribution to the Bahri Mamluk period in Egypt and Syria (c. 1250–c. 1350), but the absence of owners’ inscriptions suggests that they were not made for a Mamluk sultan. The exceptional naturalism has encouraged scholars to date the Baptistère by identifying the figures depicted. Rice, for example, suggested that the basin was made for the amir Salar (d 1310) on the basis of the emblems worn by one figure, but other scholars have suggested dates ranging from the mid-13th century to the mid-14th. Other works in the same distinctive style have been attributed to his workshop, such as a basin (Jerusalem, Mayer Mem. Inst. Islam. A.), a steel mirror inlaid with gold and silver and decorated with inscriptions and signs of the zodiac (Istanbul, Topkapi Pal. Mus.; see MIRROR, fig. 6) and an incense burner found at Qus (Cairo, Mus. Islam. A.). A forged iron screen in the Is`ardiyya Madrasa (before 1345) in Jerusalem is inscribed with the name of Muhammad ibn al-Zayn, but the date of the screen and its relationship to the inlaid wares are uncertain.
|
