A family heirloom

Prior to WW1, my great uncle was a lawyer in Adelaide but with the outbreak of hostilities, he volunteered with the Red Cross and was tasked with legally recording all Australian deaths in the Middle East and returning their personal items to their next of kin.
At the end of the war in 1918, he returned with his own belongings he had collected during his time in Cairo. As he never married, this brass coffee table (or whatever the Egyptians called it) gravitated to my nephew via my grandfather, father and brother.
It didn’t suit my nephew’s modern decor so he threatened to sell it!! I used the local dialect to tell him what I thought of that idea and it’s now safe in my possession while I convince one of my offspring to show it suitable respect after I fall over.