Textile with Qur'anic Inscriptions

Public Domain

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Artist Unknown

CultureTurkish

Titles

Textile with Qur'anic Inscriptions

DateLate 17th–18th century

MediumSilk; lampas weave, satin foundation with patterning wefts in plain weave binding

Dimensions27 1/2 × 26 1/2 in. (69.9 × 67.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Cathy and Vahid Kooros in honor of Peter C. Marzio

Object number2007.1307

Not on view

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Department

Art of the Islamic Worlds

Object Type

TEXTILES

DescriptionThis vibrant silk panel belonged to a larger textile that likely served as a tomb cover. According to the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, silk will adorn the dwellers of Paradise; thus, its funerary use may have alluded to this promise. The textile’s elaborate thuluth-style calligraphy, weaving through chevron bands of varying sizes, contains Qur’anic verses and the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith:
“There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
The smaller inscriptions praise God and cite the Qur’anic verse that
established Mecca as the direction for Muslim prayer (2:144).
Provenance Research Ongoing

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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