346 - A large Muslim Indian prayer cotton banner with Imam 'Ali's qualities and religious invocations, first half of the 20th century, Northern India, the large prayer panel opening with a rectangular cartouche with an invocation to Allah in black ink intertwined thuluth script, the cartouche later inscribed with an earlier date 1251 AH (1835 CE) written in Arabic numerals in the opposite order, framed within a vegetal festoon of pink and blue rosettes, in the middle a large oval medallion describing the physical qualities of the first Shi'a Imam 'Ali, the vertical-format lobed cartouche in the centre containing v. 103 of Sura al-Imran (3) in free-flowing black ink naskh script, ending with a large inscription in bold rayhani script, with nominal roundels on the corners referring to Sunni characters including Talheh and Ayrsha, the hot pink borders decorated with Persian-inspired illuminated cusped cartouches with polychrome flowers and gilt rosette bands, and crossing khanjar daggers with white curled hilts, at the top an image of Ka'ba, the reverse plain, opaque pigments and ink heightened with gold on an off-white cotton canvas (121 x 70.5cm) Condition Report: Edges frayed. Gilt,pattern and pigment faded in areas. Some areas of staining to back. For further images, please request a condition report.