Why did craftsmen choose to copy the styles and techniques of earlier periods? This talk examines a pair of inlaid brass candlesticks made in Cairo, and argues that the revivalist decoration is both inventive and expressive of the spirit of the time.

Figure 1. Brass candlesticks inlaid with silver and copper. Nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, Cairo. Collection of Mohammad Khaleeq. Kcs 22a and b.

Figure 2. View of beaten brass candlestick (Kcs 22a). Collection of Mohammad Khaleeq.