ENGRAVED BRASS ALMS MEASURE (ZAKAT MUDD) Morocco, dated 20 Jumada II 1209 H/January 1795, signed 'Abd Rabboh Sahbana A truncated cone-shaped alms measure made up of three soldered parts, in brass engraved with calligraphic decoration. The upper band is decorated with inscriptions to the glory of God, while the body is decorated with five arcatures, each containing an inscription giving information on the origin of the alms measure. The upper band bears a suspension ring. Diameter: 9 cm (opening) Height Height: 11 cm Provenance: Former M.D. collection, before 1960 Then by descent The obligation to pay alms is the third pillar of Islam and reflects the importance of giving in Muslim religious practice. Generally distributed at the end of the month of Ramadan, it should consist of four times the contents of two joined hands filled with food. This calculation is based on an original standard dating back to the prophet Muhammad. The alms measures (mudd-s) bear direct witness to this, the calligraphic decoration on their bodies systematically tracing the chain of transmission (isnad) back to the mudd of the prophet's first companion. A few examples, generally produced in Morocco, have survived to the present day. The mudd-s produced during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be distinguished from older ones, including one dated AH 734 / AD 1334, now lost, by the type of decoration. The isnad text is inscribed in arcatures whose spandrels are decorated with fleurons. Two examples, dated 1180 H/1697 and 1209 H/1795, are preserved respectively in Rabat (Musée national des bijoux, no inventory number) and Fez (Dar Batha, inv. 411.389/47.1488), and published in Lintz et al. 2004, Le Maroc médiéval, nos. 278 and 279, pp. 470-1. An engraved brass Zakat Mudd, Morocco, dated 20 Jumada II 1209 H/January 1795, signed 'Abd Rabboh Sahbana The obligation to pay alms is the third pillar of Islam and reflects the importance of giving in Muslim religious practice. Generally distributed at the end of the month of Ramadan, it should consist of four times the contents of two joined hands filled with food. This calculation is based on an original standard dating back to the prophet Muhammad. The alms measures (mudd-s) bear direct witness to this, the calligraphic decoration on their bodies systematically tracing the chain of transmission (isnad) back to the mudd of the prophet's first companion. A few examples, generally produced in Morocco, have survived to the present day. The mudd-s produced during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be distinguished from older ones, including one dated AH 734 / AD 1334, now lost, by the type of decoration. The isnad text is inscribed in arcatures whose spandrels are decorated with fleurons. Two examples, dated 1180 H/1697 and 1209 H/1795, are preserved respectively in Rabat (Musée national des bijoux, no inventory number) and Fez (Dar Batha, inv. 411.389/47.1488), and published in Lintz et al. 2004, Le Maroc médiéval, nos. 278 and 279, pp. 470-1.