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Mohammed ibn al-Zain
Basin
Circa 1320-40
© R.M.N.
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Mohammed ibn al-Zain
Basin
Also known as the Baptistère of St. Louis
Circa 1320-40
Egypt or Syria
Hammered bronze with gold, silver, and niello inlay
H. 22.2 cm; Top diam. 50.2 cm
Former treasure from the chapel at the Palais de Versailles, transferred to the Louvre in 1832
LP 16
Islamic Art
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| Author(s) |
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| Annabelle Collinet |
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The Baptistère of St. Louis is one of the great masterpieces of Islamic art. Its perfection - and the mysteries surrounding it - are a source of fascination. It was made by the master craftsman Mohammed ibn al-Zain, who signed his work six times. A second inlaid metal bowl of his making is also in the museum's collections. The basin is decorated with scenes of human activity, inlaid with precious metals.
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A piece linked to the kings of France
The basin only acquired its name in the second half of the eighteenth century. The name would appear to suggest that the object was brought to France by Louis IX, but, at the time of his death in 1270, the basin had not even been made. No mention of it figures in the inventories of Charles V prior to 1380. The basin was used in baptism ceremonies for the children of France: Louis XIII was baptized at Vincennes in 1601 with this basin used as a baptismal font. These facts seem to indicate that the piece had not entered the collections of the French court before the end of the fourteenth century, and that is was present by the early seventeenth century. In 1856, the basin left the collections of the Louvre one final time, to be used at the baptism of the imperial prince Napoléon-Eugène at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Two shields bearing the French coat of arms were added to the inside rim in the nineteenth century.
Decoration of unparalleled richness
On the outside of the basin, the principal scenes are represented in the large central band and interspersed with four roundels. Two panels depict a procession of emirs bearing weapons and symbols of their positions. We can see the mace-bearer ("jumaqdâr"), the ax-bearer ("tabardân"), and the bow-bearer (bunduqdâr). Also present are the master of the wardrobe (jamdar), the polo master ("jukandâr"), the sword-bearer ("silahdâr"), and the cupbearer ("saqî"). Some of the boots worn by these dignitaries have coats of arms on them. The emirs on the remaining two panels are carrying drinking vessels and animals; these are the cupbearer, the taster, the master of the hunt, and the the sultan's huntsmen. The four horsemen featured in the roundels appear to represent various aspects of "furusiyya" ('horsemanship' or 'chivalry'). Friezes on either side of the central band depict animals passant. Their progress is punctuated by small roundels engraved with coats of arms.
The mystery of the coats of arms
The animal friezes that flank the external composition are interspersed with eight coats of arms in the form of fleurs de lys. These were added after the decoration had been completed, being laid over other coats of arms that can still be glimpsed underneath. Among the latter are a rampant lion, perhaps originally inlaid with gold on a red copper ground, which alternates with a second coat of arms in the shape of a key, which will also have been inlaid with gold. Eight smaller roundels with coats of arms appear in the animal friezes on the inside of the basin. Here again, the 'key' motif is visible beneath the fleurs de lys. We know that the fleur de lys became a very popular coat of arms under the reign of Sultan Qalaun (1280-90). Later, it appears to have been the emblem of Sultan al-Nasir Mohammed ibn Qalaun (circa 1321-39). The rampant lion evokes the crest of the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus, which owned Mamluk metalwork: a basin bearing the name of Hugues IV and a tray are in the Louvre's collections. The coat of arms of France inside the Baptistère conceal two escutcheons - similar in shape to those on the Hugues IV basin - that were left empty. They must have been intended for the coat of arms of the basin's original recipient, but their absence leads one to think that this masterpiece was never delivered. Could it have been kept by a Mamluk sultan whose coat of arms was the fleur de lys: Mohammed ibn Qalaun, for example?
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Allan J.W., " Muhammad ibn al-Zain : Craftsman in Cups, Thrones and Window Grilles ? ", in Levant, XXVIII, 1996, pp. 199-208
Behrens-Abouseif Doris, " The baptistère de Saint Louis : a reinterpretation ", in Islamic Art, III, 1988-1989, pp. 3-14
Rice David Storm, " The blazons of the " Baptistère de Saint Louis ", in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XIII/2, 1950, pp. 367-380
Rice David Storm, Le Baptistère de Saint Louis, Éditions du Chêne, 1951
Ward Rachel, " The " Baptistère de Saint Louis " - A Mamluk Basin Made for Export to Europe ", in Islam and the Italian Renaissance, Warburg Institute Colloquia, 5, 1999, pp. 113-132
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Islamic Art : 
