ISLAMIC WORLD Fatimidi.al-Mansur billah, AH 334-341 / AD 946-953.1/4 Dinar al-Mahdiya, AH 338 = AD 949/50 - Album 695. Nicol 243 AU (g 1.07 g) Ex Leu Numismatik, Lot 4282 | Web Auction 23. Undulations of the roundel, with ancient sticker. qBB

Rare Islamic magic bowl, medicinal bowl, magic bowl, this type also known as "poison cup", dated 641 AH / 1243 AD: flat thin-walled bronze bowl with very beautiful brown patina, the inside engraved with various Arabic amuletic characters and numerals, partly arranged in circles and a square, also with an Arabic blessing formula for the Prophet Muhammad and with an image of a scorpion, a dog and a double dragon with knotted tails, as well as with the maker's name "Husain al-Hasakah (?) al-Mawsili (= from Mosul) and the date (in words) 641 AH (= 1243 AD), engraved in Arabic on the outside "This blessed bowl was made for use against the bites of dogs and snakes, the sting of the scorpion and (as an aid) in difficult childbirth ... Drink three times and trust in God ...", d 17 cm, h approx. 2.5 cm, very good condition for its age, the depiction of the dog heavily rubbed and with scratches, probably after an attempt to erase this depiction. Provenance: from an old private collection of a North German count's family. See e.g. E. Langer, Islamic magic bowls and plates made of metal, 2013, p. 17 ff. 4455-112