Not on display

Tomb Cover

ca. 1600-1699 (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, mustard-yellow and crimson and arranged in a zigzag pattern on a green ground. The texts on the wider bands alternate. 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. The inscriptions that make up the narrower bands vary. They may be one of three quotations from the Qu'ran relating to the Prophet (XXXIII, 56; XXXIII, 40; IX, 33). They may be a blessing on Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali and all the other Companions of the Prophet.

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 white and mustard-yellow and outlined in red, forming a repeating zigzag pattern; Turkey, 1600-1699
Physical description
Woven silk, green ground with calligraphic decoration in white and mustard-yellow and outlined in red, forming a repeating zigzag pattern
Dimensions
  • Length: 115cm
  • Width: 67cm
Style
Ottoman
Summary
This silk textile has a design that was traditionally used for tomb covers. The religious inscriptions are worked in white, mustard-yellow and crimson and arranged in a zigzag pattern on a green ground. The texts on the wider bands alternate. 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. The inscriptions that make up the narrower bands vary. They may be one of three quotations from the Qu'ran relating to the Prophet (XXXIII, 56; XXXIII, 40; IX, 33). They may be a blessing on Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali and all the other Companions of the Prophet.
Bibliographic references
  • Nurhan Atasoy and others, Ipek. The Crescent & the Rose. Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets, London, 2001, figs 90/D/ii and 91/A/i and 284. The authors underestimated the length of the technical repeat unit.
  • Tim Stanley, with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004; pp. 28, 32, plate 43.
  • pp.59-61 Ipek, Dr. Selin, Dressing the Prophet. Textiles from the Haramayn. Hali. Summer 2011, Issue 168
  • pp.59-61 Ipek, Dr. Selin, Dressing the Prophet. Textiles from the Haramayn. Hali. Summer 2011, Issue 168
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
780-1892

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Record createdFebruary 5, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O73894/tomb-cover-unknown/
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