Name of Object:

Tomb cover

Location:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

National Museums of Scotland (NMS)

About National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh

Date of Object:

Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A. 1981.204

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Woven silk rendered in red, green and gold.

Dimensions:

Length 231 cm, width 78 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Turkey.

Description:

A woven silk tomb cover that has a repeat design of zigzag bands set against a dark-green ground. Each zigzag band is contained within narrow borders that hold repetitions of the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, rendered in white with red outlines and set against a dark-green ground: ‘La Ilah Ila Illah wa Muhammad rasul Illah’ (‘There is no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God’). The narrow borders above contain prayers for the Prophet, while those below contain prayers for the four righteous caliphs Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali as well as for the companions of the Prophet. In between the bands the superposed words ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammad’ are repeated.
In Ottoman Turkey the cenotaphs of important personages were often draped with various types of textiles, much like this one, with its zigzag patterns of calligraphic prayers. It has been suggested that these textiles may have been intended to recall the ceremonial drapery or kiswa covering the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca. The earliest textiles of this type have been dated to the AH 11th / AD 17th century, and the latest to the AH 13th / AD 19th century.

View Short Description

In Ottoman Turkey the cenotaphs of important individuals were often draped with religious textiles showing a distinctive design of zigzag panels containing Qur’anic prayers. This custom may have been intended to recall the ceremonial draping of the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca with the so-called kiswa cover.

How date and origin were established:

A stylistically related funerary textile is in the V&A, London (inv. no. 780-1892), and there is another in the Topkapı Palace Museum (inv. no. 13/1690), both have been dated to the 11th / 17th century (see Atasoy et. al, 2000; Türkische Kunst, 1985).

How Object was obtained:

Purchased from Lisbet Holmes Ltd., London in 1981.

How provenance was established:

Funerary textiles of this type are ascribed to Ottoman Turkey (see Atasoy et. al, 2000; Türkische Kunst, 1985).

Selected bibliography:

Atasoy, N., Denny, W. B., Mackie, L. W., and Tezcan, H., Ipek, the Crescent and the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets, London, 2000, P.297, fig. 284; p.205, figs. D I, D ii.
Blair, S. S., and Bloom, J. M., Images of Paradise in Islamic Art, Hanover N.H., 1991 (for a similar later piece and a discussion of the symbolism).
Scarce, J., Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior, Edinburgh, 1996, p.106 (where item is illustrated).
Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit, exhibition catalogue, Recklinghausen, 1985, p.265, cat. no. 5/18.

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Tomb cover" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;47;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-KhamisUlrike Al-Khamis

Ulrike Al-Khamis is Principal Curator for the Middle East and South Asia at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. She began her academic career in Germany before completing her BA (1st class Hons) in Islamic Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London in 1987. The same year she moved to Edinburgh, where she completed her Ph.D. thesis on “Early Islamic Bronze and Brass Ewers from the 7th to the 13th Century AD” in 1994. From 1994 to 1999 she worked as Curator of Muslim Art and Culture for Glasgow Museums and, in 1997, was one of the main instigators of the first ever Scottish Festival of Muslim Culture, SALAAM. Since 1999 she has been based at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, where she has curated several exhibitions and continues to publish aspects of the collections. In addition to her museum work she has contributed regularly to the teaching of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Edinburgh.

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: UK3 47

RELATED CONTENT

 Artistic Introduction

 Timeline for this item

Islamic Dynasties / Period

Ottomans


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