Name of Object:

Two apexes from banners of the Prophet Moses

Location:

Jerusalem

Holding Museum:

Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif

About Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem

Date of Object:

Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century

Museum Inventory Number:

أ/ ن/41

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Cast copper.

Dimensions:

Height 39 cm, diameter 16 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Probably Jerusalem.

Description:

A pair of apexes from ceremonial banners widely used in official religious processions that took place at most of the religious sites and shrines in Palestine. Such processions formed an important part of the local cultural history of the region. The banners would carry either the name of the season, the city, village, or the family name of the household whose members were bearing it. The banner bearers would lead the procession. The banners had specific social and religious significance especially in a growing popular consciousness. In some cases, it indicated the high social standing of the family, the importance of the city, or a certain village. The raising of the banner was traditionally restricted to certain religious and social processions, limiting it to the local people, who considered it a form of social prestige.
One of the most famous religious seasons in Palestine was that of the Prophet Moses. This celebration began in the Ayyubid period (beginning of the AH 6th / AD 12th century) and continued to widen and grow. It took place at the end of spring every year coinciding with Easter which was celebrated by the Christian communities in Palestine. Delegations would come to Jerusalem from different parts of Palestine, especially from the cities of Nablus and Hebron. Throngs of people would gather at the Haram al-Sharif with those who were participating in the celebration from Jerusalem. They would march in procession together, with a large and splendid retinue raising flags and banners that were specific to each city, village and important family as well as Sufi tariqahs (Sufi Orders). They would finally arrive at the Sanctuary of the Prophet Moses which was located between Jerusalem and Jericho. Here festivities would continue as well as the fulfilment of pledges, for the period of a week or more.
The banner is typical, composed of a cylindrical pole of about 3m. The fabric flag held inscriptions that might be verses from the Qur'an, names of God, supplications, religious expressions, or the names of individuals or places. The two apexes exhibited here are similar in composition: each consisting of a cylindrical base that would fix onto the head of the pole, and a neck that bears a circular ring to support the apex. The circle of the apex includes an inscription of two lines, spaced out in copper, it reads: “God, our Lord”. On top of the circle is the crown of the apex; a spaced rhomboid shape, within which is a solid rhomboid.

Banners were used in festivals and processions in Palestine and bore the names of the Prophets, shrines, cities and important families. The most famous shrine was the tomb of the Prophet Moses. Each of this similar pair has a copper crown that would be mounted on the head of a pole. An inscription of two spaced lines states ‘God, Our Lord’.

How date and origin were established:

The piece was dated by means of studying its style and shape and looking at the casting technique used to produce it.

How Object was obtained:

The piece was transferred at an unknown date, from the Haram al-Sharif to the Islamic Museum.

How provenance was established:

It is likely that this piece was made in Jerusalem where such banners were widespread. There are still some families in Jerusalem who make similar pieces.

Selected bibliography:

Tamari, V., “Two Ottoman Ceremonial Banners in Jerusalem”, in S. Auld and R. Hillenbrand (eds), Ottoman Jerusalem, London, 2000.

Citation of this web page:

Nazmi Al-Ju'beh "Two apexes from banners of the Prophet Moses" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;45;en

Prepared by: Nazmi Al-Ju'behNazmi Al-Ju'beh

Nazmi Al-Ju'beh is an archaeologist and historian and Co-Director of RIWAQ, Centre for Architectural Conservation in Ramallah, Palestine. He studied at Birzeit University in Palestine and at Tübingen University in Germany. He taught at Birzeit University and at al-Quds University. He was Director of the Islamic Museum, al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem, and directed various cultural heritage projects in Palestine, including surveys of archaeological and architectural sites. He was a major contributor to Pilgrimage, Sciences and Sufism: Islamic Art in the West Bank and Gaza (Vienna: MWNF, 2004) and is the author of numerous publications on the history, archaeology and cultural heritage of Palestine.
Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation 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: PA 45