[Royalty & Music] Farouk I of Egypt (1920 - 1965). Ornamental Music folder from the Collection of King Farouk of Egypt. An ornamental music folder, boards covered in gold velvet, the front board decorated with four brass corner ornaments each inlaid with multi-color cloisonné, surrounding an elaborate and large central decoration in brass and detailed cloisonné with a raised image of a lyre at the center. 14.25 x 11.25x .5 inches. From the collection of King Farouk of Egypt, sold originally at the 1988 Oakland Galleries auction of the J.W. Menhall Estate, including items from the King Farouk Collection, and sold here with a copy of the sale catalogue in which the folder is illustrated.


Farouk I of Egypt was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I of Egypt, in 1936. He ruled during a turbulent time in Egyptian and Middle East history that was marked by the creation of the Arab League, the first Arab-Israeli conflict, and heated nationalist opposition to the British. Instead of being the shrewd political leader that Egypt needed, Farouk was a materialistic womanizer and corpulent spendthrift whose outrageous lifestyle eventually led to his downfall. Enamoured of the glamorous royal lifestyle, although he already had thousands of acres of land, dozens of palaces, and hundreds of cars, the youthful king often travelled to Europe for grand shopping sprees, earning the ire of many of his subjects. It is said that he ate 600 oysters a week and in 1951, he bought the pear-shaped 94-carat Star of the East Diamond and a fancy-coloured oval-cut diamond from jeweler Harry Winston. Overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , he was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as Fuad II of Egypt. He died in exile in Italy.