"EGYPT" Line

This tea set is inspired by two Muslim shrines of – Muhammad Ali's mosque  and The IIbn Tulun Mosque.

The Ibn Tulun Mosque built in the IX century by Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Abbasid governor of , is the most ancient mosque in Cairo . It is surrounded by massive brick walls resembling fortress walls with pinion shaped as stylized figurines. On the three sides of the enormous paved courtyard is surrounded by arcades resting on high carved square piers, and in the center of the courtyard there is an ablution fountain. The tall minaret of The Ibn Tulun Mosque erected much later in the XIIIth century has a very unusual shape featuring a helical outer staircase. It doe not resemble any of minarets in Cairo because it is similar to the famous minaret in Iraqi city Samarra where Ahmad ibn Tulun had been born.

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali was built in Cairo in the XIXth century by a famous Turkish architect Yusuf Bushnak. The Mosque is located in the Citadel of Cairo – the majestic fortress with strong walls constructed in XII-XIII centuries –that at present is the site of many popular museums. The Cairo Mosque was inspired by the great Ayasofya (Sancta Sophia) in â Constantinople . It is also called the Alabaster Mosque because the mosque walls both outside and inside was coated with genuine Egyptian alabaster of a yellowish sandy hue. There is an open-work  brass clock tower in the middle of the northwestern riwak, which was presented to Muhammad Ali by King Louis Philippe of France in 1845. The clock was reciprocated with the obelisk of Luxor now standing in Place de la Concorde in Paris . The mosque interior  design is especially magnificent and rich – in Turkish rococo  style with stained-glass windows and marble-coated walls encrusted with gemstones.

Oval medallions decorating the tea-pot and sugar bowl from this china set feature The Mosque of Muhammad Ali against the background of the azure Egyptian sky. Each of the set items is decorated with Egyptian arabesques: wide cream-rose fringes with elegant plant ornaments resembling carved stone. White and pink  coloring of the set is harmoniously complemented with gold making the set especially festive and magnificent.

This collection is produced in a limited number of copies (500 sets).