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Lot 395
Ghaznavids. Zahir al-Dalah Abu'l-Muzaffar Ibrahim. AH 451-492 / AD 1059-1099. Gilt Pewter (?) Medallion (69mm, 70.58 g, 6h). Ghazna mint. Dated AH 454 (AD 1062). Good VF.
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Live Auction
Islamic Auction 9
Live bidding begins Apr 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM BST
(15d 2h 21m left for internet bidding)
Category
Description
Ghaznavids. Zahir al-Dalah Abu'l-Muzaffar Ibrahim. AH 451-492 / AD 1059-1099. Gilt Pewter (?) Medallion (69mm, 70.58 g, 6h). Ghazna mint. Dated AH 454 (AD 1062). Obverse field: la ilaha illa Allah Muhammad / rasul Allah al-Qa- / ’im bi-amr Allah amir / al-mu’minin
, Obverse margin: bism Allah al-rahman al-rahim arsalahu bi’l-huda wa din al-haqq li-yuzhirahu / Reverse field: al-amir al-sayyid a- / l-malik yamin khalifat / Allah al-muzaffar Ibra - / him
, Reverse margin: bism Allah duriba hadha al-dinar bi-Ghazna sanat arba‘ wa khamsin wa arba‘ mi‘a. Good VF. Of the highest rarity, believed unique.
This remarkable medallion appears to be unique, although at least two very similar pieces are known from the reign of Farrukhzad, Ibrahim’s predecessor. One of these, dated AH 444 and with the mint-name Ghazna, was sold at Christie’s in 2009 (Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds auction 7751, London, 6 October 2009, lot 15), and a second example, also dated AH 444 but apparently with the mint-name Dar al-Sultanat Qandahar, was sold at Bonhams in 2003 (Islamic & Indian Art auction, London, 1 May 2003). Farrukhzad came to the throne in AH 444, and Bonhams described their example as ‘an accession medallion’, but that cannot apply to the present piece which is dated three years after Ibrahim became Sultan. The Christie’s cataloguer’s more cautious suggestion that ‘it is possible that this medallion was donated to loyal courtiers as a commemorative object’ seems safer.
Originally, it was suspended from single piercing at 12h on the obverse, like the medallion of Farrukhzad sold by Christies. Over time, contact wear between medallion and suspension enlarged the piercing into an oval, thinning the medallion’s rim until a small part finally broke away. This suggests that the medallion was hung from a metal chain, which was strong enough to wear away the metal of the medallion itself, rather than being suspended from a softer cord or a ribbon.
After this original piercing had broken, the rim was skilfully repaired and five additional holes were drilled into the border. Recognising that the medallion was too heavy to be safely hung from a single point, this allowed the it to be remounted with its weight evenly supported across six points. Traces of gilding can be seen inside these five piercings, showing that this must have been applied after the medallion was repaired and remounted. While it might have been sewn onto clothing, this would have meant that only one side would have been visible to the viewer, while this gilding was applied to both sides of the medallion. Instead, the repaired medallion might have been pinned or wired into a larger gold ring-mount at these six points, and the whole ensemble then gilded to ensure a uniform appearance.
Taken together, this demonstrates that our medallion was not merely owned for many years, but that it was worn, prized, and treasured throughout that time. This can partly be explained by the fact that, for all its size and magnificence, the legends on this piece are virtually identical to ‘Abbasid donative coins struck two centuries earlier. It announces itself as a ‘dinar’ and uses the standard marginal legend bism Allah…duriba hadha al-dinar bi-Ghazna sanat…, even though it is a cast medallion rather than a struck coin. All the other inscriptions, apart from the names of the caliph and the Ghaznavid sultan, are purely religious in nature. This contrasts with some Samanid and Buwayhid medallions, whose designs can include portraits and pre-Islamic imagery. While it may have been a courtly gift from a Sultan, this medallion could also be worn in public without offending the pious.
The final winners of all CNG Islamic Auction 9 lots will be determined during the live sale that will be held on 24-25 April 2025.
Islamic Auction 9 – Session Two – Lots 256–529 will be held Thursday afternoon, 25 April 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM GMT.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
This remarkable medallion appears to be unique, although at least two very similar pieces are known from the reign of Farrukhzad, Ibrahim’s predecessor. One of these, dated AH 444 and with the mint-name Ghazna, was sold at Christie’s in 2009 (Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds auction 7751, London, 6 October 2009, lot 15), and a second example, also dated AH 444 but apparently with the mint-name Dar al-Sultanat Qandahar, was sold at Bonhams in 2003 (Islamic & Indian Art auction, London, 1 May 2003). Farrukhzad came to the throne in AH 444, and Bonhams described their example as ‘an accession medallion’, but that cannot apply to the present piece which is dated three years after Ibrahim became Sultan. The Christie’s cataloguer’s more cautious suggestion that ‘it is possible that this medallion was donated to loyal courtiers as a commemorative object’ seems safer.
Originally, it was suspended from single piercing at 12h on the obverse, like the medallion of Farrukhzad sold by Christies. Over time, contact wear between medallion and suspension enlarged the piercing into an oval, thinning the medallion’s rim until a small part finally broke away. This suggests that the medallion was hung from a metal chain, which was strong enough to wear away the metal of the medallion itself, rather than being suspended from a softer cord or a ribbon.
After this original piercing had broken, the rim was skilfully repaired and five additional holes were drilled into the border. Recognising that the medallion was too heavy to be safely hung from a single point, this allowed the it to be remounted with its weight evenly supported across six points. Traces of gilding can be seen inside these five piercings, showing that this must have been applied after the medallion was repaired and remounted. While it might have been sewn onto clothing, this would have meant that only one side would have been visible to the viewer, while this gilding was applied to both sides of the medallion. Instead, the repaired medallion might have been pinned or wired into a larger gold ring-mount at these six points, and the whole ensemble then gilded to ensure a uniform appearance.
Taken together, this demonstrates that our medallion was not merely owned for many years, but that it was worn, prized, and treasured throughout that time. This can partly be explained by the fact that, for all its size and magnificence, the legends on this piece are virtually identical to ‘Abbasid donative coins struck two centuries earlier. It announces itself as a ‘dinar’ and uses the standard marginal legend bism Allah…duriba hadha al-dinar bi-Ghazna sanat…, even though it is a cast medallion rather than a struck coin. All the other inscriptions, apart from the names of the caliph and the Ghaznavid sultan, are purely religious in nature. This contrasts with some Samanid and Buwayhid medallions, whose designs can include portraits and pre-Islamic imagery. While it may have been a courtly gift from a Sultan, this medallion could also be worn in public without offending the pious.
The final winners of all CNG Islamic Auction 9 lots will be determined during the live sale that will be held on 24-25 April 2025.
Islamic Auction 9 – Session Two – Lots 256–529 will be held Thursday afternoon, 25 April 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM GMT.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
