Name of Object:

Fragment from a tiraz

Location:

Monastir, Tunisia

Holding Museum:

Ribat Museum

Date of Object:

Hegira, last quarter of the 4th–first third of the 5th centuries / AD 10th–11th centuries

Museum Inventory Number:

T 001

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Linen embroidered with silk.

Dimensions:

Oblong, length 55 cm x 24 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Fatimid

Provenance:

Egypt.

Description:

This beige-coloured linen fragment is decorated with two horizontal strips of calligraphy embroidered in green silk. The inscription is in kufic lettering with split uprights.
The beginning and end of both inscriptions are missing. In spite of its damaged condition, one can read in the first line; 'May the blessing of God fall on Muhammad the highest of all prophets and on his good and pious ancestors.'
On the second line is written; '(There is no other divinity) than God in his oneness and may blessings fall on Muhammad the highest of all prophets.'
The tiraz was made using a weaving technique typical of the Egyptian textile industry up to the end of the Fatimid era. Its texture indicates that it was probably part of a caliph's turban. It appears to have been made in a private workshop (tiraz al-khassa), reserved for the caliph and government dignitaries, rather than in a popular workshop (tiraz al-amma). The workshop would have been in the Nile Delta area, one that specialised in linen, and which was probably located in Alexandria, Damiette, Tinnis or Dabiq.

Fragment of beige linen from a tiraz made using a needlework technique employed in the Egyptian textile industry during the Fatimid period. The texture of the tiraz suggests that it was made in a workshop reserved for use by the caliph and the important dignitaries of the regime.

How date and origin were established:

Comparison with other similar pieces of cloth with identical inscriptions referring to the family and good, pious ancestors of the Prophet shows that this piece belonged to an Egyptian Fatimid caliph. The absence of exuberant decoration combining geometric, floral and animal motifs would place the date between the last quarter of the 4th and the first third of the 5th century / 10th–11th century.

How Object was obtained:

The tiraz was bought in 1958 by the late H. H. Abdelwahab, former Director of the National Institute of Art and Archaeology, from an Egyptian antique dealer. He then donated it to the Ribat Museum at Monastir.

How provenance was established:

The weaving method and the ownership by a Fatimid caliph both indicate that the cloth was made in Egypt.

Citation of this web page:

Mourad Rammah "Fragment from a tiraz" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tn;Mus01_B;50;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.
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
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 78