In a landmark auction on Tuesday, Bonhams auction house in London set a new record by selling a lamp known as "The Lamp of Prince Sarghitmish" for approximately $6.5 million. This sale not only made it the most expensive lamp ever sold in the world but also broke the record as the most expensive glass piece ever auctioned. The bidding raised the price of the lamp from its estimated value of between £600,000 and £1,000,000, causing intense competitive bidding in the auction hall and via phones.
The Lamp of Prince Sarghitmish is one of the rarest and most important examples of Islamic glass ever offered at auction. It is creatively decorated with images from the Sultan Sayf al-Din Sarghitmish Mosque and School in the Sayyida Zaynab neighborhood of Cairo. The lamp's historical and artistic significance, coupled with its exceptional provenance, contributed to its staggering final price.
According to Bonhams, the Sarghitmish lamp first appeared in the 19th century among the possessions of French antique collector Charles-Henri-Auguste Chiffre, who brought it to Paris. Charles-Henri-Auguste Chiffre, born in 1820, was close to the Ottoman Sultan and served as an accredited translator at the Sublime Porte. During his ownership, the lamp was exhibited in some of the most important museums in Paris, including the Louvre, and was photographed in ten art and antique books of that period.
The lamp remained with the Bougous family after Chiffre's time, and the Nubar family used it as a vase for dried flowers. The last owner of the lamp was the heirs of Arkel Nubar, who sold it through the auction house. This extensive ownership history allowed the lamp to exit Egypt legally, contributing to its increased price and desirability among collectors.
However, the sale has raised significant concerns among Egyptian antiquities experts and officials. Dr. Abdel Rahim Rayhan, an antiquities expert, stated that the sale of this lamp is completely illegal unless ownership documents are provided. He explained that everything exhibited in public auctions is sold with forged papers. "Therefore, Bonhams is required to provide documents to the Egyptian government proving the lamp's legal exit, as most items sold at these auctions are sold with forged papers to create a modern illegal ownership formula to justify the sale," Dr. Rayhan asserted.
He emphasized that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has the right to demand documents proving its legal exit from Egypt before the Antiquities Protection Law 117 of 1983 and its amendments. Dr. Rayhan explained that if the lamp had exited Egypt at the time when Egypt was an Ottoman province, it would have done so under conditions where Egypt did not have jurisdiction over its antiquities and under French and British colonial circumstances.
Dr. Rayhan referred to the "UNESCO 1970 Convention," which was signed by 123 countries, including Egypt. The UNESCO 1970 Convention is the convention on combating the illicit trade in artistic artifacts and organizing the mechanism for the return of art pieces obtained illegally to their original countries. By this convention, there is implicit approval from 123 countries not to demand the return of their looted antiquities before the year 1970. "Thus, the convention deprives Egypt of the right to demand the return of these antiquities, even though they are smuggled Egyptian antiquities," he noted.
He urged these countries to present amendments to UNESCO and use all available means to pressure for amending the unfair clauses of the convention to ensure the return of antiquities that exited illegally from these countries. Dr. Rayhan calls on the Arab countries that signed the convention, including Kuwait, Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Mauritania, Oman, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine, to agree on amending the clauses of the convention.
The Lamp of Prince Sarghitmish originates from the mosque and school built by Sayf al-Din Sarghatmish al-Nasiri, a prominent figure during the Mamluk era. Sayf al-Din Sarghatmish al-Nasiri began building his school in the year 756 AH, and it was completed in 757 AH. The Sarghatmish School is one of the most magnificent buildings, the most venerable, and the best in form and the most delightful in appearance. The school occupies an almost square area of land and is built on old buildings that the architect used as a base and foundation after sealing their openings and doors.
Sayf al-Din Sarghatmish al-Nasiri and his son Amir Ibrahim, who died in the year 770 AH, were buried under the dome of the school. The dome of the Sarghatmish School is distinguished by a phenomenon rarely found in Cairo's buildings: it contains a double-built dome. The inner dome has a semi-circular section and rests on a neck of medium height, while the outer dome has a pointed section and rests on a neck of extended height, starting from the middle of the windows. In the center of the dome is a rare marble composition, and the dome contains an iwan located on its western side.
The concerns raised by Dr. Rayhan highlight the ongoing challenges faced by countries like Egypt in protecting their cultural heritage. The potential illegal sale of such significant artifacts underlines the necessity for stringent regulations and international cooperation to prevent the illicit trade of antiquities. The Egyptian government may seek to verify the legality of the lamp's export and could potentially request its return if it is found to have been exported unlawfully.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq