Rare Early Islamic Carved Wood Fragment Eagle Egypt c1000 AD

We are very pleased to be able to offer this rare and delightful early piece of Islamic history. This ancient work of art comes with a guarantee that it is genuine and from the period and culture stated.

Early Islamic wood is very scarce and even small fragments such as this one are highly sought after due to their rarity (see images provided of small fragments that sold at very high prices). Wood was not a common commodity in the early Islamic civilisation so it was reserved for important structures such as mosques and palaces.

You have to keep in mind that wood was a luxury and an expensive resource in the ancient Islamic civilisation so only the wealthiest class would have been in a position to have some carved for their use.

Furthermore, most people could not afford furniture and would sit and eat from the floor. Only the wealthiest in society could afford to decorate the interior of their palace or mansion.

The Eagle of Saladin (Arabic: نسر صلاح الدين, known in Egypt as the Egyptian Eagle (Arabic: النسر المصري al-nisr al-missry) is a widely used symbol of power and majesty from the earliest Islamic period.

Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt, took the bird as a symbol of strength, and carried a yellow flag emblazoned with an eagle as his personal standard. The Cairo Citadel, built during Saladin’s reign, has a large eagle on its west wall believed to depict Saladin’s emblem.

Eagles and birds of prey (falcons) were used as symbols during the earliest Islamic period. Eagles are found on pottery, metalwork and coins from the first few hundred years after the Hijrah (Islamic calendar). We have provided some examples of these early representations of the eagle in Islamic art at the end of this listing.

This beautiful ancient work of art was probably part of a small piece of furniture such as a table or a box. It would have in a secular or domestic setting as imagery was generally not acceptable in places of worship.

You can see the wonderful detailed carved features such as the feathers, the beak, the eye and a wonderful design carved in the corner.

The carver has also cleverly shaped the outer border of this piece to look like the head of an eagle.

You can see that there is a projecting section down one side that would have slotted this piece into something larger.

In very good, solid and fragmentary condition as shown.
There is some very old damage but this is stable and is minor when taking into account that this amazing antique is around 1,000 years old.

This wonderful work of art measures 75mm across x 45mm high x 7mm thick.

Early Islamic wood is highly prized as it is so rare – mostly only found in museums and when it comes up for sale: it achieves high prices.

We have provided two examples of similar small size that have sold for thousands of pounds.
We have also included an image of an early carved wood panel that sold for half a million pounds.

Provenance: this rare and early carved wooden Islamic antiquity was part of the collection of an American archaeologist working in Egypt from the 1930’s until 1951 and he took this piece as part of a collection on return to the USA at that time.

This piece is guaranteed to be genuine and of the period as stated in this listing.

Eagles in Early Islamic Art:
There is an eagle shaped brass ewer (jug) in the British Museum that is dated from 180AH made in Iraq.

Another eagle shaped bronze ewer from the 9th Century is in the Berlin Museum.

A 1,000 year old Fatimid bowl in the Metropolitan Museum (New York) has a central eagle design.

There is a large brazier (fire pit) in a Jordanian museum that has four eagles as supports (legs) that is dated 150 AH.

The eagle was used on the earliest Islamic coins in As Shaam (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria). For example see above image of a very rare 9th Century brass Islamic eagle (not included in this sale).

A free perspex display stand is included as shown in the image above (battery is not included).

Free shipping with insurance within mainland UK – overseas please request shipping quote.