Catalog
1 Livre
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947-1949 |
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| Currency | Pound (1919-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is arranged within an ornate geometric border of interlaced Islamic arabesque motifs with rosette corner medallions, rendered in pale salmon and grey tones. At left centre, a large blank white oval panel serves as the watermark zone, flanked by a standing classical female figure in intaglio at right. The denomination 'UNE LIVRE SYRIENNE' appears in bold letterpress at upper centre, with the serial number and Arabic date inscription below, alongside two manuscript signatures and their respective titles in Arabic. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a large central vignette of a harbour and coastal landscape with mountains receding into the distance, rendered in a soft grey-blue intaglio engraving by Clément Serveau. The scene is framed by two tall arched panels and an elaborate border of multicoloured Islamic geometric tilework and arabesques in blue, ochre, and terracotta. Arabic denomination text occupies the upper right field, with a numeral '1' cartouche in the lower right corner and the bank name in Arabic script at the top. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie et du Liban was a French-chartered institution operating under mandate authority, and by 1947 its days were already numbered — Syria had declared independence in 1946, Lebanon in 1943, and both countries were actively working to establish their own central banks. These notes were issued into a currency arrangement that all parties knew was temporary.
Marguerite "Rita" Dreyfus was one of the Banque de France's most accomplished engravers of the mid-twentieth century, responsible for some of the finest intaglio portraiture on French colonial issues of the period.