The purpose of these ‘SIMW’, as also of some papers which have appeared under different titles in this Bulletin and elsewhere, is to clear the ground for the preparation of a Handbook of early Islamic metal work. My aim is to broaden the basis on which the writing of such a handbook (covering the period from the rise of Islam to the end of the fourteenth century) can be attempted, by submitting unpublished and significant material in the form of brief, but detailed, monographs. I hope that readers will call my attention to errors and omissions. The supporting illustrations (which, unless otherwise stated, are my own) form an essential part of such an undertaking, and I am most grateful to the Editorial Board of BSOAS for allowing a generous number of plates and line-drawings to be reproduced in each issue.