Damascus: Artisans of Brass

Date: fourteenth century

Brass items such as pitchers and basins produced by Damascene artisans appeared gold in colour, according to Italian traveler Simone Sigoli. These craftsmen mass produced brass goods as there was a high demand from merchants who seek to import these luxury goods to be sold in other regions around the world. These items were often ornamented with figures and foliage.

Citation: Bellorini, Theophilus and Eugene Hoade (trans.), Visit to the Holy Places of Egypt, Sinai, Palestine and Syria in 1384 by Frescobaldi, Gucci & Sigoli, Publications of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum 6 (Jerusalem: Franciscan Press, 1948), p. 86.