Not on display

Tomb Cover

1800s (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Turkey (made)

This silk textile has a design that was traditionally used for tomb covers. The religious inscriptions are worked in white and mustard-yellow, edged in crimson and arranged in a zigzag pattern on a green ground. The denser text within each V-shape of the zigzag quotes the Muslim creed, or statement of belief. This states, 'There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God'. A looser pattern is made up of the word Allah ('God') placed above the name Muhammad. This is repeated at each angle of the zigzag. Further inscriptions make up the narrower bands.

Object details

Categories
Islam
Death
Object type
Tomb cover
Materials and techniques
Woven silk
Silk (Textile)
Weaving
Brief description
Woven silk, green ground with calligraphic decoration in cream with a red outline forming a zigzag patternTurkey, 1800s
Physical description
Woven silk, green ground with calligraphic decoration in cream with a red outline, forming a zigzag pattern. The textile is edged with red, yellow, blue and white candy cane striped fabric.
Dimensions
  • Length: 39cm
  • Width: 65cm
Style
Ottoman
Summary
This silk textile has a design that was traditionally used for tomb covers. The religious inscriptions are worked in white and mustard-yellow, edged in crimson and arranged in a zigzag pattern on a green ground. The denser text within each V-shape of the zigzag quotes the Muslim creed, or statement of belief. This states, 'There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God'. A looser pattern is made up of the word Allah ('God') placed above the name Muhammad. This is repeated at each angle of the zigzag. Further inscriptions make up the narrower bands.
Bibliographic references
  • pp.59-61 Ipek, Dr. Selin, 'Dressing the Prophet. Textiles from the Haramayn', Hali. Summer 2011, Issue 168
  • p.262, fig.205 Ed. Venetia Porter, Hajj. Journey to the Heart of Islam, (British Museum Press, London), 2012, ISBN.9780714111766
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
39-1889

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O319424/tomb-cover-unknown/
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