Oman and Zanzibar Virtual Museum

Name: "Prince Regent entering Muscat cove"  Worcester Flight Barr and Barr plate, part of a specially made royal service given by the King of England William IV to the Sultan (Imaum)  of Oman Said bin Sultan on board a yacht that was also a present. The yacht the Prince Regent is hand-painted in the center of the plate before Muscat cove note the  red flag on the yacht (flag of Oman)

Period: The royal service was produced in 1837

Origin: Royal service made  in England by Flight Barr & Barr  and presented by The King of Britain to Sultan bin Said (father of Bibi Salme) and sent on board  the ship Prince Regent (shown on the plate)

References:

1. Richard Burton, Zanzibar: City, Island and Coast, Tinsley Brothers, London. two volumes. Volume 1 pages 268-269: "The useless, tawdry 'Prince Regent"presented by H.B. Majesty's Government to the late Sayyid , was by him passed over in 1840 to the Governor-General of India. it was sold at Calcutta, and for many years it was, as a transport, the terror of the eastern soldier. The Sayyid could not pray amongst the 'idols' of gilding and carving; he saw pollution in every picture , and his Arabs supposed the royal berth to be the Tabut Hazrat Isa - Our Lord's coffin. Instead of this article he wished to receive the present of a steamer, but political and other objections prevented. See Wellsted's Travels in Arabia vol I p 403. This author exposes , without seeming to know  that he was doing so , the selfish and short-sighted policy of the H.E.I. Company which wanted a squadron subsidiary to its own"
2. A soup-terrine from the same royal dinner service approx. 28 cm high with heavily damaged but restored cover was sold at auctioneers Lempertz in Germany for 16000 euro lot 732 November 14  2014 See slide-show photo! This terrine did not have the crown mark pressed into the porcelain, however it did have one of the Flight Barr & Barr marks printed in red.
3. The plate and its spectacular background is described in  detail in Mr R W Binns  book titled “A Century of Potting in the City of Worcester, being the history of the Royal Porcelain Works from 1751 to 1851” published in 1865 and in 1877. page 126 to 128 incl large illustration of identical plate!!!!!
4. The Said Ruete Library in the NINO Leiden owns a copy of Burtons Zanzibar: City, island  and coast. Rudolph Said Ruete (son of Pricness Emily Ruete) has handwritten on the bottom of page 269 of  volume 1: "A plate with the picture 'Prince Regent entering Muscat Cove' was produced by Royal Porcelain Works Flight, Barr and Barr.  Worcester Coventry London . Purchased by my father in England before 1870. presented to Sultan of Muscat , Taimur when in England in 1928. In his study in Muscat"
5. BBC Antiques Roadshow in Dyrham Park Sept 23 2013 a large terrine from the same dinner service was shown / discussed, but this one did not have the indented marks on the bottom
6. At Adams´s auction in Dublin Ireland an identical plate was sold for GBP 520 excluding premium. March 12 2008. The auction  catalog did not mention the important pedigree / background of the plate........
7. Joseph B.F. Osgood, Notes of Travel  or recollections of Majunga, Zanzibar, muscat, Aden, Mocha and other Eastern ports, Salem 1854 page 65-66 "More reasonable charity is it to question the judgement and forsight of those entrusted with their selection, than to attribute the avarice of the Imaum the displeasing fate of the presents sent him by the English and American governments. The gross misrepresentation that he sold, with perfect contempt, the several presents made by our government, in 1833 should be peremptorily contradicted. The coach which queen Victoria sent him, at an expense of nine thousand dollars, could add to the pleasure and comfort of the Imaum, upon the soft impeding sands of Zanzibar, about as much as a pair of the Imaum's clumsy, wet-weather sandals would add to the value and utility of Queen Victoria's splendid wardrobe. By good authority I have been informed that it has not been dismantled of its decorations that they might be sold, but it still remains in the casing in which it was sent.         The light yacht which our government sent him in 1841, at a cost of three thousand  dollars, was destined to be shaken into fritters, in the hand of rough Arab boatmen, had they not endangered the Imaum's life by nearly upsetting it while he was on board. Not thinking it is a safe boat he had it laid up in ordinary on board his frigate "Shah Allum" (King of the World) where it gained the commendation of the British consul  and the Imaum in his generosity made him a present of it. His liberality was subsequently rewarded by the gift from the consul of a safe boat procured in this country at an expense of 450 dollars. In this connection it may be well remembered that the Arabian Horses sent by the Imaum about that time as a present to the president of the United States, were sold by public auction in the  city  of Washington. A rich silver service was presented to him by Queen Victoria in 1844. The British consul, soon after he had been informed by letter that this intended present had been shipped, was notified of the arrival of a case of merchandise, directed to him; not being informed of its contents and supposing that the case contained the Queen's gift, he sent it to the palace, to be opened in the presence of the Imaum. Imagine the holy horror and supersttious awe of the Imaum, and the discomfiture of the consul, when the contents of the case proved to be a gravestone, intended to perpetuate the memory of a recently deceased wife of an African missionary. Said's superstition will perhaps excuse him for bestowing the silver service upon his personal friends when it did arrive, soon after"
8. Wellsted Travels in Arabia London Vol 1 page 403
9. History Indian Navy II p 15
10. Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society, 6 V 1837 p 12
11. Gobineau, Trois ans en Asie, 1859 p 90

Name: Box with hand-painted picture of the American ship Imaum from of the US harbour Salem.

Period: Around 1850

Origin: unclear, maybe work by an American sailor on-board the ship or someone in Zanzibar??

1. George Granville Putnam, Salem vessels and their voyages, The Essex institute 1924. Second of four volumes discusses the trade on Zanzibar including the  ships Imaum and the Taria Topan. Between pages 88 and 89 of Vol 2 is an illustration of the ship Imaum:

The ships  Imaum and the Taria Topan  were not just used for trips between Zanzibar and Salem but visited many different harbours. The Taria Topan is named after the Taria Topan  the tax collector of the Sultan of Zanzibar, see elsewhere in this website.

Name:  Maria Theresia Thaler, with the fictitious date "1780"

Period: 1780-1950

Origin: Persia (Decoration style suggests Khorosan Herat district)  or Oman. 

References:
1. A silver legend. The story of the Maria Theresa Thaler by Clara Simple.
2. Cradle of Islam by S.M. Zwemer  p 225
3. History of currency in the Sultanate of Oman 1990 published by the Central bank of Oman.
4. Ethnic Jewellery from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands 2002 Amsterdam Pepin Press  p 47

Name: Siniyyah / Shirazzi

Period: 1580-1630

Origin: Persia or Oman

Description:
1. Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World A.S. Melikian-Chirvani 1982 Victoria and Albert museum
2. Sotheby´s auction Art of the Islamic world London Lot 185  3 October 2012
3. J.L. Carter Tribes in Oman Peninsular publishing 1982 page 111 
4. Traditional crafts of Saudi Arabia 1981 by John Topham p 157
5. Nederlanders aan de kusten van Oman"1991 by B.J. Slot (contains the information on Muscat by Padtbrugge)
6. Travels in Arabia by Wellsted Volume 1 1837
7. Oman-Holland A short history of the relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the Netherlands by Dr. B. Slot 1993 (English translation of reference 4)

Name: Tas / In Oman the large bowls are named Shiraziyah (!!). Some of these are in fact Persian wine bowls! Shirazzi may also refer to the Shirazzi type of  grapes and wine produced in the past  on the Jebel Akhdar.  

Period: 1600-1830

Origin: Persia or Oman. Purchased in Nizwa´s old copper souq during the early 1980´s : Found under tons of dust in the old  deserted workplaces. In the 1980´s only two Omani coppersmiths had remained in the old Nizwa copper souq. These two men were selling the left over copper in the different deserted workplaces and  even the Omani doors of these old workplaces  were for sale.

References:
1. Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World A.S. Melikian-Chirvani 1982 Victoria and Albert museum
2. Sotheby´s auction Art of the Islamic world London lot 185 October 3 2012
3. J.L. Carter Tribes in Oman Peninsular publishing 1982 page 111 
4. Traditional crafts of Saudi Arabia 1981 by John Topham p 157
5. Nederlanders aan de kusten van Oman"1991 by B.J. Slot (contains the information on Muscat by Padtbrugge)
6. Travels in Arabia by Wellsted Volume 1 1837
7. Oman-Holland A short history of the relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the Netherlands by Dr. B. Slot 1993 (English translation of reference 4).

8. Joseph B.F. Osgood Notes of Travel  or recollections of Majunga, zanzibar, muscat, Aden, Mocha and other Eastern ports, Salem 1854 page 100

Name: Sarpush

Period: 1600-1840

Origin: Persia or Oman. Purchased in Nizwa´s old copper souq duirng the early 1980´s : Found under tons of dust in the old deserted workplaces. In the 1980´s only two Omani coppersmiths were left over and had turned partly into antique dealers...

Below you find a Youtube film relating to the Safavid dynasty in Persia:

References:

1. Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World A.S. Melikian-Chirvani 1982 Victoria and Albert museum
2. J.L. Carter Tribes in Oman Peninsular publishing 1982 page 111 
3. Traditional crafts of Saudi Arabia 1981 by John Topham p 157
4. Nederlanders aan de kusten van Oman"1991 by B.J. Slot (contains the information on Muscat by Padtbrugge)
5. Travels in Arabia by Wellsted Volume 1 1837 Oman-Holland A short history of the relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the Netherlands by Dr. B. Slot 1993 (English translation of reference 4)
6. British Museum on-line Ingram collection  2012,6030.132 Large upside-down bowl-shaped stand made of beaten copper. Inscribed with bands of Persian verses and punched floral and palmette patterns. Diameter 44 cm Used as a base to hold a lamp-stand (e.g. see 2012,6030.131) Previous welding visible on the top

The chain is made of amber from Birma, this is called Birmite.  When held against the light you can see with a magnifying glass many small cracks (a feature of Birmite). Again when we hold a bead against the light or using flash photography the beads look more reddish (cherry colour) The colour of Birmite is influenced by temperature, humity, air and age. These beads are probably over 200 years old.  Birmite mines were closed between 1936 and 1999, when they reopened again. In Asia and in partiuclar in China there has been a lot of interest in in Birmate. 

 Notice the small internal cracks in all the amber (birmite) prayer beads

In Islam, prayer beads are referred to as Misbaha (Arabic: مسبحة mas'baha ), Tasbih or Sibha and contain 99 beads, corresponding to the Names of God in Islam. Sometimes only 33 beads are used, in which case one would cycle through them three times. The beads are traditionally used to keep count while saying the prayer known as the "Tasbih of Fatimah", which was a form of prayer offered as a gift by Muhammad to his daughter, which is recited as follows: 33 times "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to God), 33 times "Al-hamdu lilah" (Praise be to God), and 33 times "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest) which equals 99, the number of beads in the misbaha. It is highly recommended to recite this prayer after the daily five ritual prayers.
Use of the misbaha to count prayers and recitations is considered an acceptable practice within mainstream Islam.While they are widely used today in Sunni and Shia Islam, adherents of the Ahmadiyya and Salafi sects shun them as an intolerable innovation. According to Mirza Tahir Ahmad of the ahmadiyya community, the use of prayers beads is a form of innovation which was not practised by the early Muslim community. Antique prayer-bead chains made of Birmite are very collectible and valuable.

The finials that were not included in the necklace, but kept separate.

1. Wikipedia
2. The History of beads by Lois Sherr Dubin (bead 906 on the beadchart after page 112)
3. Feedback British Museum (Jill Cook) The ideal environment  for amber is around 18 Celsius and 55% humidity. The heat prevalent in the climate of Muscat and high temperature differences between day and night may have may have played a role in the crazing on the surface of the beads. Crazing is a network of fine cracks on the surface of a material. (however we did not find this effect on some other old amber beads purchased in Oman)

Smallest bead 1 x 1 mm and the largest bead is 6 by 7 mm. Length of the chain is 55 cm.

The British Museum has almost identical small glass beads from Zanzibar. These ancient beads were found in Zanzibar / Pemba during the the early 1900's and donated to the British Museum.  The British Museum identifies the origin of most of the glass beads as probably being from Persia (Iran) See the slide-show for comparable beads in the BM. The book by F.B. Pearce (see below) gives more details about the beads that could be found around Zanzibar during the early 1900's.It should be noted that before the arrival of the Portuguese the trade with Arabia was run by the Kingdom of Hormuz (1000-1500). This kingdom was run by Persians  (Shirazzi?) en Omani Arabs.

A recent scientific study (ref 2) by Marilee Wood etc. Zanzibar and Indian Ocean trade in the first millennium CE: the glass bead evidence concludes that some of the glass beads found on Zanzibar Island (Unguja Ukuu and Fukuchani) are several thousand years old, while  others are from a later period but also many centuries old. Many beads may originate from South and South-East Asia. Glass Beads were not  completely made in Zanzibar however evidence was found that glass tubes were imported and locally converted into beads. See also the Slide-show for a photo of these beads (copied from this paper) Our beads look very similar but not sure they are also that old.

F.B. Pearce writes in 1919 (ref 1) : "Besides Carnelian beads , pierced amethysts and garnets  and great quantities of glass beads are also found at certain states of the tide at the ruined towns in Pemba. They are generally considered to be of Arabian or Persian manufacture, and date from the twelfth to the fifteenth century; although some specimens may be considerably older and date from the Ptolemaic period. The most common bead  found at Ndagoni is a large, irregularly shaped bluish-green glass bead of a distinctive character. After heavy rain they may be picked up by hundreds. That they are of somewhat archaic manufacture is evident from the irregularity of their shape ans size. Many appear to have become distorted in the process of being made.  The question is often asked how the existence of such quantities of beads in the sea-sands of Pemba can be accounted for:

1) That they formed part of a cargo of a wrecked ancient ship

2) That they have been washed out of ancient graves by the encroaching sea.

3) That they are the remains of some propitiatory or thank -offering made by the former inhabitants of the ruins, to the sea

4) that a bead factory factory or depot existed at the towns where beads are now found and that the encroaching sea has liberated the beads.

The fourth explanation seems the most probable . It is worth noting that at Mogishu in Italian Somali-land one of the oldest Persian or Arab settlements on the coast, complete apparatus for the manufacture of glass beads, glass stems, and coloured beads has been found (see Justus Strandes Die Portugiesenzeit von Deutsch und English Ostafrika). If a glass-bead manufacture existed at Mogdishu there is no reason why similar establishments should not have been erected elsewhere in the region" e.g. page

The necklace section contains a long chain with antique silver, wooden and  ancient glass beads. 

1. Zanzibar the Island metropolis of Eastern Africa by F.B. Pearce, Barnes & Noble 1919 page 355
2. Zanzibar and Indian Ocean trade in the first millennium CE: the glass bead evidence by Marilee Wood,  Panighello, S etc. published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 20 Jan 2016; Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2016). doi:10.1007/s12520-015-0310-z
3. British Museum Af1922,0307.4.a-w (identical yellow glass beads) Sizes 0,2-0,8 cm Probably made in Iran. Donated by Miss Le Neven Foster in 1922 Found in Zanzibar.
4. British Museum Af1959,21.27.a-e (identical red glass beads) Sizes  0,1-0,6 cm  Donated by J.H. Vaughan 1959  Zanzibar Pemba.  Findspot: Mtambwe Mkuu, "From shore near high water mark"
5. British Museum Af1922,0307.1.a-cr (96 identical red glass beads) Sizes 0,1-0,5 cm Origin Persia (Iran) Donated by Miss Le Neven Foster in 1922 Found in Zanzibar
6. British Museum Af1959,21.39.a-d (similar green glass beads) Donated by J.H. Vaughan 1959  Ndogoni, Pemba Is. ZANZIBAR "from shore near ruins" (?)
7. British Museum Af1959,21.12.a-c. Similar blue/green glass beads Size 0,2-0,6 cm Excavated/Findspot: Mtambwe Mkuu NDOGONY Pemba Zanzibar, "From shore near high water mark" Donated by J.H. Vaughan 1959  
8. British Museum Af1935,1015.2 String of similar glass beads in various colours. Found in Zanzibar. Donated by : McElderry 1935.
9. A Handbook on Beads by WGN Sleen, Libraire Halbart Liege 1973 Contains section on  beads from Coastal East Africa / Zanzibar page 76- 91 and several references in the rest of the book.
10. The History of beads by Lois Sherr Dubin, Harry Abrams New York 1995 page 67 contains information on Trade-wind-beads page 67 Tradewind beads of brick red, yellow, green and black opaque glass, probably dating to the fifteenth century A.D. These distinctive beads were made in India by a drawn glass technique. Many similar beads were exported . beginning in 200 BC and continuing up to the seventeenth century. They are labeled trade wind beads because they are found in  archaeological  sites by the Indian Ocean in East and South Africa  and are believed to have arrived there in the ships of Arab, Indian and Chinese traders who sailed with the monsoon winds and ocean currents. The beads are also found throughout South-east Asia, including Thailand , Java, Malaysia and Sumatra. Of particular interest are the brick red beads known as "Indian reds" in Africa and as Mutisalah in Timor. The beads shown in the photo on page 67 belonged to the Corning museum of glass and the origin of the beads was determined in 1957 by Mr. WGN van der Sleen based a comparison of similar 15th century beads excavated in Brahmapuri. 

Name: Tool for casting musket multiple bullets (bullet mould / bullet mold)

Period: 1700-1800 (Brass / Bronze bullet molds)

Origin: This tool was purchased in Nizwa in the interior of the Sultanate of Oman (long distance from the sea!)  in the old copper-souq during the 1980´s. There are no makers marks on the tool (maybe still hidden under the oxidation)  to definitely decide whether it is Dutch or English. Both Dutch and British were active in that period in the Persian Gulf e.g. Bandar Abbas.  Bandar Abbas was later leased for several years by Sultan Said bin Sultan. However, there is a high probability that the mould originates from the  Dutch ship Amstelveen stranded on the coast of Oman in 1763  see ref 7! In 2013 new attempts were made to find the wreck of the ship in Oman. Attempts failed due to lack of visibility of the water and project abandoned.

1. Scheepvaart museum Amsterdam. Object A.4849(16): Kogelgiettang voor dertien musketkogels, gemerkt met XXIII From the ship Hollandia wrecked in 1743. Length 41, 5 cm including the wooden handles. Comment: My tool is nearly identical to this one. The Scheepvaart museum assumes that the bullets were intended for an handgun.
2. J.P. Puype Jaarverslag 1975 van de Vereniging Nederlands Historisch scheepvaart museum. Aanwinst beschrijving. In the 1975 museum annual the tool recovered from the Hollandia that sunk in 1743 is described in detail. 
3. The Visser collection arms of the Netherlands  Zwolle 1996. De Giettang staat in Deel 3 Cat 701 pagina 492-493
4. Kaat Scheerlinck, Militaire metaalvondsten uit het kasteel van 
   Middelburg in Vlaanderen Academiejaar 2015-2016 (00803719)  page 139-148 Een nog  geavanceerder type giettang is gevonden bij Kasteel Middelburg.
5. Noël Hume 1969, page 221
6. Hildred et al. 2011, page 30
7. 2012 Shipwreck & Survival in Oman 1763. The fate of the Amstelveen and thirty Castaways on the south coast of Arabia, based the notes by Cornelis Eyks by Klaas Doornbos 2012 Amsterdam Pallas Publications
8. Tribute to Oman 1993/1994 Shipwreck "The ongoing quest for the Amstelveen" by Wilhelmina van Rijn page 118-123
9. Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum Kuwait 1995 New York Tauris Publishers p 85
10. Nationaal Militair Museum Soest Netherlands  has a similar but a crude and later example "Object 092614: Messing kogelgiettang voor diverse soorten ronde munitiekogels, totaal 17 stuks (1800-1939)
11. Robert Elgood

Name: Chines porcelain shards

Period: 14th to 18th century

Origin: China

 References:

1. Julfar an Arabian port. Its settlement and Far Eastern Ceramic Trade from the 14th to the 18th centuries  by John Hasman, Royal Asiatic society of Great Britain and Ireland 1985. Similar ceramics was found in julfar as in Oman. The book gives some indications of the origin and age of these shards.
2. Oman Faces and places, articles from PDO News magazine 2009 page 94-96 article on Qalhat
3. The National Museum of Oman Highlights published by Scala Arts & Heritage publishers in  2016 page 48
4. The National Museum of Oman Highlights published by Scala Arts & Heritage publishers in  2016 page 48 shows an early piece of China found in Sohar.
5. Porcelain: Its Nature, Art and Manufacture by William Burton, Batsford 1906 (end Chapter VI) refers to John Kirk's celadon  porcelain collected in Zanzibar and the East African coast. John Kirk was British consul in Zanzibar. He accompanied David Livingston on his second Zambezi expedition. Kirk and his wife helped princess Emily Ruete to escape from Zanzibar and execution by her brother  the Sultan of Zanzibar when she got pregnant from the German Ruete and wanted to elope. Kirk was also a keen photographer in East Africa.

Name: Chinese 18th century porcelain rosewater-sprinklers (for the Islamic market)

Period: 1750-1800

Origin: Chinese

References:

1. Period and Origin determined by a well known  German auction-house

Name: A collection of antique Chinese porcelain purchased in Oman

Period: 1780-1840

Origin: China (one or two items may be Japanese and the rare early bowls maybe from south east Asia) Purchased in the Mutrah souq during the early 1980´s .

Youtube film about beekeeping Oman:

References:

1. Throw down the anchor The story of the Muttrah souq by Maxine Burden, centre for Omani dress, Muscat Media Group 2014 pages 210-211 contains an article on Omani honey.
2. British Museum online   Ingrams Collection 2014,2011.119 and 2014,2011.121 Identical Chinese rice bowls (with the painted  floral and calligraphic motifs)  Width 24 cm
3.  2015 The Sultan's Spymaster Peera Dewjee of Zanzibar by Judy Aldrick published by Old Afrika books Kenya. page 271 "Decorative plates have a long history on the East African coast as they were used as ornamentation on graves and displayed on the walls and in the niches of Arab and Swahili houses...... European goods (incl ceramics)  came to Zanzibar (and Oman) in increasing quantities after the opening of the Suez  Canal late 1869.
4. Documents sur l'Histoire , la Geographie et le Commerce de l'Afrique Orientale, vol 3 Paris A. Bertrand 1856 p 347 "Most of the porcelain is of Chinese origin an comes almost entirely (comment: during first half 19th century) from Bombay whose annual export of this commodity to the African coast is worth  12.000 rupees" Comment: this export of Chinese ceramics from Bombay most probably also applies to Oman.

Name: Regout Maastircht Netherlands  Models Cenis and Pompeia

Period: 1883-1910

Origin: Purchased in the Omani Muttrah souq over 25 years ago

The website GeheugenvanNederland has detailed information on when specific Regout designs were first used (see above illustration) .Therefore we know that our specific Pompeia design plus Regout Mark was first used from 10 July 1884.

1. Gun-Running and the Indian North West Frontier, by Keppel, publisher John Murray London 1911:

• Page 50:  From 1897 the Sultan of  Muscat issued a proclamation granting to the British and Persian men of war the power to search vessels in Muscat waters.e.g. on board s.s. Baluchistan 220 cases of arms and ammunition were found destined for Bushire.....By 1902 the trade through Persian and British Baluchistan had assumed such proportions that the law and order on the Perso-Baluch frontier was threatened. 
• Page 52:  To avoid vessels being searched Omani ships sailed under the French flag! In 1905 this practice was forbidden by the International court in The Hague. ...
• Page 53/54:   In 1909/1910 so numerous were the captures of gun running dhows that skippers soon learnt to look before they "skipped"
• Page 124 : As the centre of arms traffic in the Gulf, Muscat naturally bristles with rifle depots and stores. The Customs House quay is seldom unencumbered with cases of rifles and ammunition , while every other shop in the bazaar is a rifle shop.
• Page 125: Owing to a naval blockade by the British there are in Muscat at least 200.000 rifles and probably 3.000.000 rounds of ammunition for which  a market cannot be found.

   2. The Sultan's Spymaster Peera Dewjee of Zanzibar by Judy Aldrick published by Old Africa books Kenya. in 2015 page 273. This book contains information about Regout pottery imported into Zanzibar early 20th century.page 273: "The old established German Company Oswald & Co, was one of the first to export the stoneware plates into East Africa in large numbers, but faced stiff competition from Indian wholesale merchants such as Peera Dewjee and Adamjee Karimjee, who prospered because they managed to negotiate sole agencies with the potteries. Peera Dewjee had a monopoly agreement with Petrus Regout  of Maastricht, whose wares were particularly prized in Zanzibar. His plate service proved so successful that Oswald withdrew from the trade as it was no longer profitable (see Schwidder Ph.D. thesis) . There was a fierce price war, which Peera won, but eventually the price per bowl was fixed at one Maria Theresa dollar"

British Naval staff searching Omani ship for slaves or arms

Name: Havan

Period: 12th -16th century?

Origin: The shape of the mortar looks similar to early Persian pieces. However this particular design not identified so far.  Also never seen another example of such a large mortar in Oman. Purchased in Oman Nizwa during the early 1980´s

 References:

1. Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World A.S. Melikian-Chirvani 1982 Victoria and Albert museum page 68 fig 38 and page 111 fig 42   (same shape but different and more refined  designs)

Name: Unknown

Period: Probably 18th century or earlier, in view of the beautiful golden patina on the Rhino horn.

Origin: India or Persia?

Name: Yemeni Silver

Period: 1850-1948

Origin: Yemen

References:
1. British Museum has a Shumlaylat bracelet in the  Ingrams collection collected in the 1930´s in the Hadramawt. British museum on-line collection number 2012,6030.47
2. British Museum has similar decorated filigree beads (item 3 above) in the Ingrams collection on-line  number 2012,6030.215
3. The Jews of Yemen: Highlights of the Israel Museum Collection by Esther Muchawsky-schnapper  1994 Jerusalem Hamakor Printing page 98  Useful source to compare Yemenite and Omani silver
4. Traditional crafts of Saudi Arabia 1981 by John Topham  p 84, p 85
5. Aden to the Hadhramaut by van der Meulen published by John Murray 1947
6. Bedouin Jewellery in Saudi Arabia by Heather Colyer Ross p 41 square Koran-box, p 70-71 cylinder Koran-box
7. Arab & Islamic Silver by Saad Al-Jadir 1981   Stacey International   p 88
8. Tropenmuseum Amsterdam ad 1 Similar Shumlayat bracelet Inventory TM-5086-4 Date 1900-1948. Diameter 7,9 cm "Zilveren armband versierd met opengewerkte rozetten. De bladeren van deze rozetten zijn gevuld met spiraalrollen van gedraaid zilverdraad. De toepassing van fijn filigreinwerk (shabk), dat hier in spiraalrollen achtbladige rozetten decoreert, is kenmerkend voor het joodse Jemenitische vakmanschap. Dit handwerk werd in Jemen van oudsher gewaardeerd om zijn verfijndheid. Mogelijk is de armband gemaakt door een lid van de beroemde Joods-Jemenitische Busani-familie, die bekend stond om zijn fijne filigrein(Diamanti 2002: 23). Hoewel de joodse gemeenschap relatief klein was, waren er in de hoofdstad Sana’a op een bepaald moment zo’n driehonderd joodse zilversmeden werkzaam (Muchawski-Schnapper 2000:113,121). Dit aantal liep drastisch terug na de emigratie van veel joden naar Israël rond 1949-1950. Werk van joodse zilversmeden werd zowel door moslims als door joodse Jemenieten gewaardeerd: de karakterisering van een zilveren sieraad als joods was en is een kwaliteitskenmerk. Volgens Muchawsk-Schnapper werd dit type armband gedragen door joodse vrouwen tijdens hun bruiloft (2000:140-141). De bruid kreeg ze van haar aanstaande als huwelijksgift ofwel van haar vader als onderdeel van de bruidsschat. Ook werden ze gedragen bij de ceremonie rondom de geboorte van kinderen. Bij deze twee feestelijke gelegenheden droeg de bruid of de kersverse moeder tot wel vijf armbanden aan elke arm. Armbanden werden altijd in paren gedragen. Als een vrouw er zelf onvoldoende bezat, leende zij ze ook wel voor de gelegenheid"
9. Tropennmuseum Amsterdam ad 2: Similar Cylinder shaped Koran-Box Inventory TM-4313-29a "Amulethouders in Jemen zijn cilindrisch, driehoekig, rechthoekig of vierkant van vorm. Ze werden meestal aan kettingen gedragen. Bij kinderen werden kleine amulethouders ook wel op de kleding vastgespeld of vastgenaaid. In Jemen werden amulethouders gedragen door zowel moslims als Joden. In door moslims gedragen sieraden diende de cilindrische amulethouder als opberghuls voor papiertjes met Koranverzen of Arabische heilwensen: ze worden 'hirz' (Arabisch) genoemd, wat bescherming betekent. Bij Jemenitische joden bestonden de amuletten vaak uit gebeden, (gedeeltes van) Bijbelse teksten of kabbalistische formules, geschreven in het Hebreeuws of het Aramees. In de joodse context heten ze ktab dat verwijst naar het schrift. Ongeacht het geloof werden er ook andere kleinoden, zoals steentjes, een stukje tand of koraal, aan toegevoegd. Soms ook werden stukjes textiel toegevoegd, gedrenkt in parfum, mogelijk om kwade geesten te verjagen. Hoewel we vaak niet weten of een houder ook daadwerkelijk een amulet bevat omdat veel amulethouders aan beide zijden zijn dichtgesoldeerd, is deze houder aan een zijde te openen. Een amulet is in deze houder afwezig. Maar ook zonder inhoud wordt aan amulethouders, of ze nu cilindrisch zoals deze, driehoekig of vierkant zijn, een beschermende waarde toegekend. Bij verkoop van kettingen verwijderden de eigenaren vaak zelf de amuletten uit de houder, om te voorkomen dat er oneervol met de amuletten werd omgegaan"

Name: Coffeepot

Period: 1850-1940?

Origin: Possibly  Yemeni or Omani  (item was purchased in Muttrah souq during the early 1980´s ) Very similar to Ottoman and Yemeni coffee-pots. Probably from Yemen or Salalah in southern Oman. Also found in Zanzibar (see below).

References:
1. British Museum Harold Ingrams collection BM on-line collection number 2012,6030.129 Height 25 cm, diameter 15 cm weight  593 grams.
2. In the book Highlights of the Israel Museum collection: The Jews of Yemen
3. Arab & Islamic Silver by Saad Al-Jadir 1981   Stacey International  page 34 (example of a Turkish coffee-pot)
4. Tropenmuseum Amsterdam invent AM-17-728 Same design, larger but less ornate. obtained by Congregatie van de Heilige Geest in Zanzibar 30 cm high Diameter 17cm
5.  The Thesiger Collection  buy Motivate publishing Dubai. Contains 1948 photo of a Saar boy with a similar coffee-pot.

Name: Small bronze mortar and pestle

Period: 19th century?

Origin: Purchased in Oman Nizwa during the early 1980´s

References:
1. Travels in Arabia by Wellsted 1837 page 63-64
2. Tribes in Oman by Carter Page 168
3. Traditional crafts of Saudi Arabia 1981 by John Topham p 176, 177

Name: Rosewater Sprinkler with silver fittings

Period: 1890-1930

Origin: Middle East Maybe Oman or Yemen

References:

1. A silver legend. The story of the Maria Theresa Thaler by Clara Simple.