Name of Object:

Funerary stele (gravestone)

Location:

Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia

Holding Museum:

Museum of Islamic Art

About Museum of Islamic Art, Raqqada

Date of Object:

Hegira Dhu'l-Hijja 423 / AD November 1032

Artist(s) / Craftsperson(s):

Not mentioned, but could be the renowned stonemason Atiq bin Hasan, whose name appears on several stelae of the same period.

Museum Inventory Number:

SF 970

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Relief carving on white marble.

Dimensions:

Length 185 cm, height 25 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Zirid

Provenance:

Kairouan.

Description:

This stele is shaped like a prismatic slab. The text is sculpted on two facets (two lines on each). The chamfered and quite flamboyant relief sculpture is in the kufic style. The two facets of the base are decorated with various motifs. On the plinth are several types of architectonic elements including a gorge, a dividing listel and a frieze of beads and whirls. The text is framed within a listel, at each end of which there are four rectangles containing multi-lobed palm motifs. The areas outside the inscriptions are decorated with either almond shapes, fleurons with three to five lobes, or abstract circular motifs. The Muslim artist has attempted to achieve a perfect balance between the different parts of the inscribed areas by altering the actual characters.
Some characters have been made taller, while others have been finished off with half-palms, fleurons or leaves, ascending or descending, facing towards each other or away from each other. The links between the characters have been shortened and are semi-circular instead of harshly linear.
The woman mentioned is of Arab origin. Her father is an Ansari from the Aws (or Khazraj) tribes. The honorific title she bears indicates her high social status (Sayyidat al-Jamii: mistress of all) and the fine quality of the stele provides further evidence of this reputation.
The inscription covers two facets: facet 'A' contains Qur'anic verses invoking the oneness of God and the inevitability of death. On the 'B' side is the following text; 'This is the tomb of Sayyidat al-Jamii, daughter of al-Hasan son of Ali, son of Khalef al-Ansari. She died during the night of Thursday the 22nd Dhu-l-hijja in the year 423 [November 1032] …'

Piece in the shape of a prismatic blade. The inscription extends over two faces and is sculpted in relief in a flowery, bevelled kufic style. The quality of the marble and the refinement of the stele suggest that the deceased, an Arab, was of high social standing.

How date and origin were established:

The date is mentioned in the inscription. (' … the night of the 22nd dhu-l-hijja in the year 423.')

How Object was obtained:

This stele was taken from the al-Janakh al- Akhdhar cemetery and placed in store in 1971 at the National Institute of the Patrimony of Kairouan. After the extension of the Raqqada Museum it was among those pieces chosen to create a room dedicated to Arab epigraphy and will be displayed there shortly.

How provenance was established:

This stele was found in the al-Janakh al-Akhdhar cemetery in Kairouan. The calligraphy and decoration, typical of Kairouan, suggest that it was sculpted in situ, whereas the marble is of Italian origin and was probably a re-use of one of the Roman or Byzantine pieces found in abundance in those parts.

Selected bibliography:

Roy, B. and Poinssot, P., Inscriptions arabes de Kairouan, vol. II, fasc. 1, Paris, 1950, plate no. 279.

Citation of this web page:

Mourad Rammah "Funerary stele (gravestone)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tn;Mus01;29;en

Prepared by: Mourad RammahMourad Rammah

Né en 1953 à Kairouan, docteur en archéologie islamique, Mourad Rammah est le conservateur de la médina de Kairouan. Lauréat du prix Agha Khan d'architecture, il publie divers articles sur l'histoire de l'archéologie médiévale islamique en Tunisie et participe à différentes expositions sur l'architecture islamique. De 1982 à 1994, il est en charge du département de muséographie du Centre des arts et des civilisations islamiques. Mourad Rammah est également directeur du Centre des manuscrits de Kairouan.
Translation by: David Ash
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: TN 51