El Saqi Tray

A meal on a tray and centuries of statesmanship have little in common. But in the Mamluki era, the post of El Saqi-- or the cupbearer-- in a palace was where this important linkage took shape. Not one to be overlooked, he who served ministers and sultans was often typically a man of bearing and status, obliged to mime the dual dispositions of inconspicuousness and round-the-clock accessibility. But it is at state banquets where his role is most prominent. Far beyond the tired niceties of its cultural and emotional significance, the food served by the cupbearer at banquets played another important function: providing the sultan with the important intelligence of the day, without which key policy could not have been formed. ⁠⁠
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Our El Saqi trays are made of repurposed wood colored dusty pink and sage green. The top is then inlaid with glass, upon which numerous popular tales are hand-drawn in the style of such renowned illustrators as Hilmi El-Tuni and Mohieddine Ellabbad; as well as popular proverbs and colloquial commentary on everyday life.⁠⁠
⁠—El Saqi Tray(s) :: صينية الساقي