Field Ensign. Culture: Egyptian or Syrian. Dimensions: L. 20 1/4 in. (51.5 cm); W. 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 12 oz. (802.0 g). Date: ca. 1500-1511.Ensigns like this one often served as finials for standards, which were carried like flags to identify army units on the battlefield and in military reviews before the sultan. This ensign bears a Koranic inscription and the name of a Syrian emir, Sayfi al-Din Tarabay, who is recorded to have commissioned a mausoleum in Cairo in 1503-4.This is probably one of the many ensigns that were taken as booty by the Ottomans when they defeated the Mamluks in 1517. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.