Name of Object:

Ostracon

Location:

Amman, Jordan

Holding Museum:

Jordan Archaeological Museum

About Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amman

Date of Object:

Hegira 2nd century / AD 8th century

Museum Inventory Number:

J. 1949

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Inscribed pottery.

Dimensions:

Height 7 cm, width 3 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Umayyad

Provenance:

Petra, Jordan.

Description:

A triangular Ostracon that bears part of the Qur'anic sura 105 (the Elephant) written in simple kufic script. Unfortunately some words are missing because the sherd is incomplete. The function of this Ostracon was most probably for the study and memorisation of the sura by a student, but it is possible that it may have formed part of a vessel of some sort which would have been kept in the home to bring good luck and good fortune to its inhabitants.

Ostracon (inscribed pot sherd) from Petra that bears part of the Qur'anic Sura 105 (the Elephant) in kufic script. It was probably used by a student to study the verse, or could have been part of a vessel kept in a house to bring good fortune to its inhabitants.

How date and origin were established:

The object was dated on paleographical grounds to the early Islamic period.

How Object was obtained:

The object was acquired during an archaeological excavation conducted by G. Horsfield in the Palace Tomb at Petra in 1936.

How provenance was established:

The object was found during the course of an archaeological excavation in Petra.

Citation of this web page:

Aida Naghawy "Ostracon" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;jo;Mus01;41;en

Prepared by: Aida NaghawyAida Naghawy

Aida Naghawy is an archaeologist and the Director of Jordan Archaeological Museum. She studied archaeology at the University of Jordan where she gained her MA. She was affiliated to the Jordanian Department of Antiquities from 1974 as a curator of Jordan Archaeological Museum. In 1981 she became inspector of Jerash antiquities and co-ordinator of the Jerash International Rehabilitation project. She was also head of the archaeological awareness section at the Department of Antiquities. Aida is the author of numerous publications on Islamic coins. She has carried out excavation work in Jerash and is the founder of Jerash Archaeological Museum and the Islamic Museum of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: JO 82