Featured Mother of pearl inlaid vanity, syrian?

There is an elaborately inlaid vanity in our house we recently purchased. I was researching and it could be syrian.... not sure, very hard to find much like it online. It doesn't have any stamps or markings besides some marks on the back of the two drawers. Don't know if it's just a knock off or something special. Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

I searched this design and they make it in Egypt Syria and India but since the word written in Arabic it might be Egypt or Syria but the word is not so clear for me but could mean (precious)

Forget to say looks amazing enjoy

 

Thanks ... I thought the writing looked Arabic. The other drawer had something on it too, but it didn't look like writing to me... I'll upload the picture see if it looks like anything to anyone else.

 

is this picture taken for the left drawer? because the writing looks like "left" in Arabic if the first drawer was the first one taken for the right drawer th6e written word is "Right" in Arabic

يمين = Right in the first picture

شمال = Left in the second picture

They mark it so to know which drawer goes to where

 

That's a really pretty piece.

Don't know where you are, but here in CA the trend for the last few years has been to take small pieces of furniture like this and put sinks in them.
I'm thinking that is what the previous owner did.
I don't think it started out as a sink fixture.

 

Not at all this is the least I can do knowing how much the people here helping each others and particularly me thanks for you all

 

Welcome racer, lovely cabinet.

You're right, but Urdu is also written in Arabic script and uses Arabic words as well.
The brass banding looks India-Pakistan to me. Pakistan's first language is Urdu, but India has Urdu speakers as well, particularly in the northwest.

I agree.

Thank you.

 

Hi,
I have had friends who put sinks into all kinds of chests and tables since the early 1960s. My fav was a 1930s French shagreen desk made into a bathroom sink. I loved it and thought better of it. The thought of spilled toothpaste and makeup would be a real deal in cleaning.
greg

 

It is logical to think that the Urdu language uses Arabic font but very few Arabic words have the same meaning and not "Left" and "Right" in our case here, add to this the way the Urdu fonts hand written are very different than Arabic unless you are very knowledgeable in Arabic language you can tell the difference

In the below I is shown the difference between the Arabic and Urdu for writing the word left and right also it is shown the difference how they write the letter ش in hand writing

Again as you said they look very similar letters but for meaning completely different same as for Persian Language

 

Ah, thanks for explaining.

 

You are most welcome

 

This is awesome information and education... thanks

 

The style of the cabinet reminds me of Moroccan furniture. I wonder if the white panels which are not mother of Pearl are bone? The Berber tribes use metal inlay and camel bone. Random thought and probably not the right one.

 

Yes they are. Camel bone is also used in the Middle East. It is known for its beautiful white colour and good density.

Morocco and the other Maghreb countries have had a Moorish influence for centuries, as have southern Spain and Portugal.
This inlay style, often known as Damascus, traveled from the Middle East along with the Moors. The Spanish city of Cordoba is also famous for it.

Arab traders and settlers took the style further into Asia as well, as far east as Indonesia and the Philippines. There are regional differences though.

 

the visual explanation is great
am i wrong in thinking that arabic, the words are written left to right but urdu is right to left?? jawi is written right to left too.

 

Arabic written from right to left

 

@santiques , you are proving to be priceless to this forum.
Do you mind if I call upon your help for some inscriptions in the not too distant future?
I realize certain scripts can be difficult to read, but any help could bring me closer to finding out about some things that are special to me.
I won't flood you with requests.

 

Following on this thread I am asking my friends (From Morocco and Egypt whether this hand writing is common there) for me it is common in Lebanon and Syria but not aware of other Arab countries I am excluding Arab gulf area as they use another term in the word left. I asked today Moroccan person in the Vegs market and he confirm using the same written term in the thread here in addition to another term which is rarely used thats why I want to see some hand written examples from Moroccan countries

you are most welcome anytime