Arabic talisman translation requst

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Erlikhan,
This is a museum piece especially since it has a full document of Talismanic script inside. Being silver the item itself is Talismanic (Gold the Sun, Silver the Moon) It looks blackened or what is called Neillo which is achieved in two ways... In the old way Acorn charcoal was rubbed into the pattern whereas in the new way last few hundred years) acid was used.
The equivalent in Oman which can be traced possibly to ancient Turkish and Greek origins is the Quran box or Hirz as it is known here. The silver chain is very nice. Naturally regional decoration in each country is different but the idea of the box carrying an important letter and or talismanic verse is the same. People often sealed the box in Oman with pitch. Museum assistance is required to advise on the preservation of the paper document which may be photographed (you may want to do that so a full translation can be done correctly from the photo as the paper will deteriorate if handled too much), treated and perhaps sealed behind glass ?

The only proper appraisal I have seen was done in a little pamphlet book by Ruth Hawley called "Omani Silver" now out of print but the printer was Longman of London and New York. Her research is absolutely superb !!!
ISBN number 0-582-78070-5
The author will take this item through a roller coaster ride from India through Oman onto ancient Ur of the Chaldes , Sumerian Minoan, Egyptian, West Asian, Turkoman, Norwegian, Swedish, Roman, Palestinian, Jordanian, Turkish and Greek... and any others I've ommitted ! The detail is very good since items are not viewed in isolation but it can be seen where international comparisons can be followed and linked. This small, packed, 30 page pamphlet is a benchmark publication and the only real proper researched study into Omani Silver...ever !

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Beautifully written and fantastically informative write up Ibrahiim! Thank you so much. While I've heard of these amuletic containers, I have never heard of one still containing the actual written paper! I've always associated niello with Caucasian and in some cases Central Asian areas, was it well known in other areas of Dar al Islam as well?

All the best,
Jim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Beautifully written and fantastically informative write up Ibrahiim! Thank you so much. While I've heard of these amuletic containers, I have never heard of one still containing the actual written paper! I've always associated niello with Caucasian and in some cases Central Asian areas, was it well known in other areas of Dar al Islam as well?

All the best,
Jim

Salaams Jim. Research indicates that boxes like these were worked(repouse or embossing) on as solid items filled with pitch and when decorated the pitch was warmed and drained out... Neillo. I see a lot in Persian, Turkoman, Silk Road artefacts but it expands to many areas with its primitive darkening technique which was originally soot, oil, sulphur charcoal then the surface polished leaving a blackened background. In Palestine they used a clever copying technique called "sand copying" essentially a "clay with sugar added" mold in which the pattern was set.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Jim. Research indicates that boxes like these were worked(repouse or embossing) on as solid items filled with pitch and when decorated the pitch was warmed and drained out... Neillo. I see a lot in Persian, Turkoman, Silk Road artefacts but it expands to many areas with its primitive darkening technique which was originally soot, oil, sulphur charcoal then the surface polished leaving a blackened background. In Palestine they used a clever copying technique called "sand copying" essentially a "clay with sugar added" mold in which the pattern was set.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Ibrahiim, thank you again for the well explained information. It seems niello is one of those things I always kind of took for granted in noticing weapons, but hadnt looked deeply into its scope or history.

All best regards,
Jim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Ibrahiim, thank you again for the well explained information. It seems niello is one of those things I always kind of took for granted in noticing weapons, but hadnt looked deeply into its scope or history.

All best regards,
Jim

Salaams Jim,
Decorative techniques are a particular interest to me and often a fairly accurate guestimate can be made as to where an item is from by its style. I have a number of excellent publications about Arab and Islamic Silver Jewellery and decoration and would like to get them added to the Forums Bibliography which is under construction ... How do I go about adding reference book names to that facility please?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Jim,
Decorative techniques are a particular interest to me and often a fairly accurate guestimate can be made as to where an item is from by its style. I have a number of excellent publications about Arab and Islamic Silver Jewellery and decoration and would like to get them added to the Forums Bibliography which is under construction ... How do I go about adding reference book names to that facility please?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Hi Ibrahiim,
That is great! and would be outstanding additions to add to the corpus of important literature useful in studying these arms. It is interesting that these subjects often hold important detail in the decoration of arms, and in the case of Indian weapons references on jewellery and coinage have proved most useful. In studying motif often oriental carpet information can often have clues.
Please contact me privately and I will get the information added OK.

I hope that we can advance the status of this important resource here and that members will take the opportunity to use it as well as become familiar with using the 'search' feature. The material we have archived here through the years is a veritable treasure trove, and I am very grateful for all you continue to add to it as well. Thank you so very much.

All the best,
Jim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Hi Ibrahiim,
That is great! and would be outstanding additions to add to the corpus of important literature useful in studying these arms. It is interesting that these subjects often hold important detail in the decoration of arms, and in the case of Indian weapons references on jewellery and coinage have proved most useful. In studying motif often oriental carpet information can often have clues.
Please contact me privately and I will get the information added OK.

I hope that we can advance the status of this important resource here and that members will take the opportunity to use it as well as become familiar with using the 'search' feature. The material we have archived here through the years is a veritable treasure trove, and I am very grateful for all you continue to add to it as well. Thank you so very much.

All the best,
Jim

Salaams Jim... I will get right on it and send the reference book details soonest. I was very impressed by the sticky on decorative work on non weapon items also.. Regards; Ibrahiim al Balooshi..

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams,
I pressed Preserving Paper into search on the web and a whole lot of interesting data rolled up. Here is an interesting address;
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC)
1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320
Washington, D.C. 20005-1714
Telephone (202) 452-9545
FAX (202) 452-9328
E-mail: info@aic-faic.org
WWW: http://www.conservation-us.org/

There was a lot of excellent info on the web page ... Good Luck !

Regards Ibrahiim

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams,
I pressed Preserving Paper into search on the web and a whole lot of interesting data rolled up. Here is an interesting address;
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC)
1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320
Washington, D.C. 20005-1714
Telephone (202) 452-9545
FAX (202) 452-9328
E-mail: info@aic-faic.org
WWW: http://www.conservation-us.org/

There was a lot of excellent info on the web page ... Good Luck !

Regards Ibrahiim.