Description
AN OTTOMAN LAMPAS-WEAVE TUNIC MADE FROM A CENOTAPH COVER, TURKEY, LATE 19TH CENTURY An Ottoman Talismanic shirt made from sacred kiswa for the inner wall of the Kabaa with an inscribed weave in cream-colored silk over a dark red ground. The crests of the chevrons are embellished with lamp motifs with circular medallions in between. Embellished with two groups of three undulating bands which assume the form of a continuous chain made up of number '7's. The bands run from the beginning to the end of the cloth. The central band with prominent Inscription of 'Kalimaat al-Tawhid, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet', repeating in the middle of the kiswa between the two zigzag bands. The two expressions, 'Ya Mannan' (O, the All-Bounteous) inside the upright lantern, and 'Ya Hannan' (O, the Most-Compassionate) inside the reversed lantern are also repeated with 'Praise be to Allah' (O, The All-sovereign) inside the circles. On the upper undulating band, there is a verse from the Quran 2 surah Al-Baqarah verse-144. The lower undulating band encloses another inscription of Quran 3 surah Al-Imraan. 76 by 84 cm. CATALOGUE NOTE During the Ottoman dynasty's rule over Medina (1517-1916), luxuriously woven silk textiles adorned with Quranic inscriptions such as the present example were sent to the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina to be used as covers and adornments that were replaced annually. As these were considered to have been instilled with the holiness of the site, they were often redistributed to pilgrims and took on different shapes and functions. For example, a set of fragments from a similar textile, now in the Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (inv. no. TM 3.158a) were probably used as a vest; similarly the present shirt probably acquired a talismanic significance due to the past associations of the textile with which it was made.
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AN OTTOMAN LAMPAS-WEAVE TUNIC MADE FROM A CENOTAPH COVER, TURKEY, LATE 19TH CENTURY An Ottoman Talismanic shirt made from sacred kiswa for the inner wall of the Kabaa with an inscribed weave in cream-colored silk over a dark red ground. The crests of the chevrons are embellished with lamp motifs with circular medallions in between. Embellished with two groups of three undulating bands which assume the form of a continuous chain made up of number '7's. The bands run from the beginning to the end of the cloth. The central band with prominent Inscription of 'Kalimaat al-Tawhid, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet', repeating in the middle of the kiswa between the two zigzag bands. The two expressions, 'Ya Mannan' (O, the All-Bounteous) inside the upright lantern, and 'Ya Hannan' (O, the Most-Compassionate) inside the reversed lantern are also repeated with 'Praise be to Allah' (O, The All-sovereign) inside the circles. On the upper undulating band, there is a verse from the Quran 2 surah Al-Baqarah verse-144. The lower undulating band encloses another inscription of Quran 3 surah Al-Imraan. 76 by 84 cm. CATALOGUE NOTE During the Ottoman dynasty's rule over Medina (1517-1916), luxuriously woven silk textiles adorned with Quranic inscriptions such as the present example were sent to the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina to be used as covers and adornments that were replaced annually. As these were considered to have been instilled with the holiness of the site, they were often redistributed to pilgrims and took on different shapes and functions. For example, a set of fragments from a similar textile, now in the Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (inv. no. TM 3.158a) were probably used as a vest; similarly the present shirt probably acquired a talismanic significance due to the past associations of the textile with which it was made.
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