How does Baptistère de Saint Louis elucidate its Manufacturing: technical and work organization?
The technique of making this object consists of inlaid metalwork which is still practiced in Cairo to this day. The artist first develops the desired pattern by hammering the brass and then polishing it. Subsequently, he creates the next layer of decorative metal by dividing the surface of the basin into divisions, then drawing the figures and foliage. The artist cuts the patterns out of precious metal and prepares it to be hammered into the brass. The artist then begins working hammers the precious materials, silver and gold, into the copper, and then engraves the details. The final step is coating the bowl with bituminous black material, which enhances the engravings, highlights the contours, and creates contrasts.This technique appears in Islamic lands in the 12th century, probably in eastern Iran, before spreading quickly to the Syrian world. The Ayyubid dynasty, especially the artists of the "School of Mosul," some of whom worked in Damascus brought this technique to a zenith. The Mamluks, who came to power in 1250, adopted this tradition and produced works of great luxury in the Bahrite period (1250–1382).
Despite its generally stable state of conservation, the Saint Louis Baptistery has lost part of its inlay, either because of the wear of time (which is probably the case for the fish that were covered by water) or by vandals who stole the precious metal. This phenomenon of theft and loss took place mainly at the end of the 14th century, when the precious metals were scarce. However, the majority of the basin's inlays are complete.
The organization of work in the workshops remains difficult to understand because of a lack of written sources. Although coppersmiths appear to sign their work more so than other artisans, they were still considered to be artisans of secondary status, unlikely to attract the attention of their contemporary scholars. The Baptistery bears the signature of one person named Muhammad ibn al-Zayn, who also put his name on a smaller bowl in the Louvre. LA Mayer emphasizes that some works with two signatures show that there is usually at least one artist doing the foundational work of shaping the bowl, and another, the Naqqash, was the main decorative inlayer. When a name is inlaid in silver letters, it usually means that this person was the “master” and inserter. One such name is Muhammad ibn al-Zayn, Al mu'allim. The use of the term al-mu'allim is found in other pieces of Mamluk inlaid metals such as a piece of furniture in the name of an-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala'un kept at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, or a mirror preserved at the Topkapi Museum.
Muhammad ibn al-Zayn Louvre