Name of Object:

Funerary stele of Ruqayya bint al-Hadj Ahmad ibn Abdallatif

Location:

Algiers, Algeria

Holding Museum:

National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts

About National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts, Algiers

Date of Object:

Hegira 1208 / AD 1793

Museum Inventory Number:

II.S.127

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Sculpted marble.

Dimensions:

Height 99 cm, width 32 cm, depth 5.5 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Description:

Funerary stele with a rectangular base, whose superior part takes the form of an arch surmounted by a closed crescent. The two sides of this stele are sculpted in relief. On the first side, an inscription in the thuluth style is distributed across five cartouches superimposed with the following text: 'Everything, except God the very highest, is perishable / this is the tomb of she to whom God has been merciful, of she who was protected with care, / of the pearl that will receive her pardon and who remained hidden, Ruqayya, the daughter of the deceased al-Hadj Ahmad ibn Abdallatif / may God give him mercy, in the year 1208.'
The space left by the cartouches at each end are decorated with floral and vegetal motifs, just like the posterior side, which depicts at its centre a vase from which foliage ending in acanthus leaves and palmettes burst forth. A vegetal frieze frames the whole depiction. The rectangular part features a pot at its centre that has the same decoration as the upper part.
This example, along with another stele that has been preserved in the same museum, belongs to the tomb of one and the same person, as these stelae (m'chhed) existed as a pair: the one that professed faith was placed on the tomb on the site of the head of the deceased, and the one featuring the name and date of the person's death was positioned over the feet.
These stelae are not of particular historical interest, as the two persons mentioned are not referred to by chroniclers, but the finish, execution and design of the decoration cause them to be classified among the most beautiful Muslim funerary stelae of Algeria. The whole attests to the fact that the deceased belonged to a noble family.

View Short Description

Marble funerary stele with a rectangular base bearing an arch crowned with a closed crescent. Both faces of the stele are sculpted, the first with a thuluth-style inscription within five superposed cartouches, and the second with floral motifs.

How date and origin were established:

The stele is dated via an inscription (1208 / 1793).

How Object was obtained:

Gift from M. Brasqui, made in May 1842.

Selected bibliography:

Berburgger, A., Bibliothèque – musée d'Alger – livret explicatif des collections diverses de ces deux établissement, Algiers, 1860.
Colin, G., Corpus des inscriptions arabes et turques de l'Algérie, I, Département d'Alger, Paris, 1901.
Devoulx, A., Épigraphie indigène du musée archéologique d'Alger, suivi de Un musée mural à Alger, Algiers, 1874.
Institut du Monde Arabe, L'Algérie en héritage, art et histoire, catalogue, Paris, 2003.

Citation of this web page:

Leila Merabet "Funerary stele of Ruqayya bint al-Hadj Ahmad ibn Abdallatif" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;dz;Mus01;48;en

Prepared by: Leila MerabetLeila Merabet

Titulaire d'un magister en archéologie islamique (spécialité épigraphie arabe), conservateur du patrimoine archéologique et historique, Leila Merabet est chef du service Conservation et Valorisation (section islamique) au Musée national des antiquités. Elle a publié de nombreux articles dans les Annales du Musée national des antiquités.

Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: Maria Vlotides
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen

MWNF Working Number: AL 90

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Ottomans


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