Lot 173: An Islamic Devotional Steel Implement with Arabic Calligraphy

A rectangular steel implement, tapering to a pointed or blunt tip at one end. It is constructed of dark steel, and features deep, engraved Arabic calligraphic script along one broad side. The visible inscription includes the Basmala ("بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم" – In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), the phrase "حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل" (Hasbunallah wa ni’mal wakeel – Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the best Disposer of affairs), and several of Allah’s names, such as "يا الله يا حي يا قيوم يا ذا الجلال والاكرام" (Ya Allah, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum, Ya Dhal Jalali wal-Ikram – O Allah, O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor). The text continues with a devotional invocation, "يا من بادلْتَ أفواهُ ما خُتِمَتْ أبوابُها بالرحمن الرحيم" (O He who exchanged what mouths sealed their doors with, through the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).

L: Approximately 19.2cm