@museumwnf/textiles-data 1.0.5 → 1.0.7

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-{"003a4edc-0d1e-5875-9041-6715b1c36ebf":{"name":"Five textile fragments.","description":"Five circular woollen textile fragments each decorated with a depiction of a bird, perhaps a duck or a goose, in different sizes and colours, and woven in a non-extended weft pattern, a tapestry technique. The fragments were taken from bigger textiles, perhaps used as a counterpane or curtains, and which may have consisted of a decorative design with repetitive motifs. Upper Egypt was famous for sumptuous woven cloth such as this, with Asyut, Akhmim and the City of Fustat prominent places of production during the Tulunid period (AH 3rd / AD 9th century).  \nDuring the Tulunid period, textiles were distinguished by the appearance of a shadow in the decorative components, where the colour was graded from light to dark, as well as for their powerful expression. They were also influenced by the Sassanid style, brought by Ahmad ibn Tulun (r. AH 254–70 / AD 868–84) from Iraq. The production of textiles in the Tulunid period represents a period of transition in Egypt between the Coptic period and the Islamic period with regard to the decorative components and their development.  \nMost of the *jizya* (tribute) which Ahmad ibn Tulun sent to the court of the Abbasid caliphs consisted of textiles made in the *Tiraz* workshops, under royal decree, which produced magnificent fabrics of wool and linen. Tulun took a personal interest in the textile factories of Egypt, which were widespread in the north delta regions of Tanis, Dabik, Damietta, and other cities. These regions were famous for the manufacture of linen cloth with inscriptions woven in silk in a multitude of colours. Interest in textile manufacture increased in Egypt with the rule of the sons of Ibn Tulun: Khumarawayh (r. AH 270–82 / AD 884–96) and Harun (r. AH 283–92 / AD 896–905), who were inclined towards recording their names in inscription bands on the textile itself.","short_description":"Cotton and linen textiles were woven in various factories in Egypt: Alexandria, Damietta, Farma, Bahnasa, Akhmim and Asyut. Coptic-style decorations remained prevalent during the AH 1st–3rd / AD 7th–9th centuries. The pieces here are notable for the shadow effect in the decorations, where colour is graded from light to dark shades.","type":"Textile, wool","holder":"Textile Museum (One of the branches of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo)","dates":"Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century.","location":"Cairo","dimensions":"Diameter of the biggest piece: 20 cm.","method_for_datation":"These fragments have been dated based on a study of their decorative components that include the depiction of birds similar to those found in Tulunid *Tiraz* textiles from the Upper Egypt region, and which also resemble the depictions of birds on other Iraqi applied arts with Sassanid roots. Furthermore, the colours used in these textiles, whether it be different shades of yellow, degrees of green or blue, are colours that were customary on Tulunid textiles.","method_for_provenance":"Egypt was famed during the Tulunid period for its textile industry where magnificent woollen and linen fabrics were produced. The depiction of birds found on these textile fragments are also similar to those found in Tulunid *Tiraz* textiles from Upper Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The fragments were bought in 1944 from one of the antiquities dealers in Cairo, Fukyan Jan Tano.","bibliography":"Baker, P., *Islamic Textiles,* London, 1995.  \nHassan, Z. M., *Al-Fan al-Islami fi Masr \\[Islamic Art in Egypt\\],* Cairo, 1935.  \nMarzuq, M. A., *Al-Funun al-Zukhrufiya al-Islamiya fi Masr qabl 'Asr al-Fatimiyyin \\[Islamic Decorative Arts in Egypt before the Fatimids\\],* Cairo, 1974.  \nMaher, S. M., *Al-Nasij al-Islami \\[Islamic Textiles\\],* Cairo, 1977.  \nSelim, M. A., *Mansujat al-Tiraz fi Al-'Asr al-Abbasi \\[Tiraz Textiles in the Abbasid period\\],* MA Thesis, Cairo*,* 1995.","dynasty":"Tulunid","author":"Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Selim","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["animal decoration","bird","Coptic","figurative decoration","Figurative representation","royal manufacture","Tapestry","textile","tiraz","wool","workshop"],"materials":["Wool with the woven decorations woven in a non-extended weft pattern (tapestry technique)."]},"012b5222-da31-50c5-8bfc-eb439eea45d0":{"name":"*Flight of the French army and retreat of the Duke of Alençon across the Ticino*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the right-hand border of the tapestry; the mark can also be found on another example in the series. The presence of the weaver’s mark has also allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here, placed in the sequence suggested by Paredes, constitutes the last in the series and should be read in close continuity with the subject represented in the tapestry that precedes it, *Flight of the besieged and retreat of the Swiss who drown in great numbers in the Ticino*. In particular, from the juxtaposition of the two tapestries, the landscape south of Pavia can be recreated, distinguished by the presence of the small island of Gravellone, separated from the city by the waters of the Ticino. The tapestry represents one of the final moments of the battle, with a portrait of the Duke of Alençon – identified by the writing on the caparison of his horse – who, after having crossed the bridge of boats on the Ticino, orders its destruction to prevent the enemy from following. In the foreground, a few infantrymen are depicted, busy destroying the bridge, while a horseman and other soldiers are the last to cross it. The action of the Duke of Alençon, brother-in-law of the King of France, condemns all those who do not manage to cross the bridge to the wrath of the enemy or to the swirling waters of the river. In the distance, one can glimpse a herd of cows grazing serenely, indifferent to the war, in the rural landscape.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 433cm, W: 863cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"01c1fd3b-239c-5a49-b106-2c0d2c8ff5bf":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment of a scene depicting hunters on camels indicates the extraordinary skill of the Safavid weavers. Another fragment of this textile showing six hunters is in the Keir Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. In the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' piece, two turbaned riders hunting gazelles with spears stand out against an orangey red background adorned with rocks and plant designs. The subject of the scene – hunting on camelback – is borrowed from a story that the Persian poet Nizami (AD 1141–1209) told about the Sasanian King Bahram Gur (AD 420–438/39). The theme of the royal hunt figured prominently in Achaemenid and Sasanian decorative arts, providing a favourite motif for Safavid weaving and the miniatures of the period.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"23.6cm x 32cm","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest  \nPurchased from Arthur Upham Pope, Warren, Connecticut, in 1962, thanks to the Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest","bibliography":"Salam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 60.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["brocade","brocaded silk","hunting scene","Persian textile","Safawid textile"],"materials":["Silk"]},"020537ba-c7e7-5283-b409-13ae6ef0caa1":{"name":"Ikat hanging","short_description":"The decoration of this wall hanging is characteristic of the 19th century: It shows a cypress tree, here flanked by two smaller trees, in a niche. The central motif is bordered on the right and left by a wide border, reminiscent of borders on carpets.  \n  \nThe hanging is made using the ikat technique, yet in this case a far more complex material choice has been employed, not being made simply from silk or cotton but as an ikat velvet. They were made in Kashan, possibly also in Yazd. On the basis of some inscribed objects, a period of manufacture from 1896 to 1925 is attested, i.e. exactly until the end of the Qajar period.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Hermann and Annette Landolt-Tüller","dates":"Hegira beginning of 13th century / AD end of 19th-beginning of 20th century","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 186.5cm, Width: 138cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with stylistically similar objects","provenance":"Iran, Kashan","obtention":"Acquisition with funds from the Rietberg Kreis","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschoff, Marie-Louise, and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen. Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: esp. 104-109.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Velvet ikat, silk (warp) and cotton (weft)"]},"04d27671-b1ac-5ad5-85cb-254ee0e80def":{"name":"Bridal cushion","description":"This bridal cushion from Ma’an, Jordan, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, is among the most distinctive examples of Jordanian domestic textiles. They feature embroidery patterns that are believed to reflect connections with the Caucasus, whether through historical travel, trade, or settlement. These motifs stand as a testament to Ma'an's role as a crossroads of cultural exchange, where influences from distant regions were absorbed into local artistic traditions.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64,5 cm; width: 34 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Bride","embroidery","Furniture","marriage","wedding"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"05e7e5aa-01c1-5eb2-8d63-892574f025d5":{"name":"Silk fragment.","description":"A fragment of linen and silk textile that is tapestry-woven. It has four horizontal silk panels that alternate between areas of woven linen and vertical blue silk stripes. The uppermost band shows a broad, gathered band that is interlaced in gold and outlined in red. The spaces within the interlacing are filled with gold-coloured motifs above and below, and abstract floral motifs rendered in gold and green in the centre; the entirety is flanked above and below by gold-coloured split-palmette scroll borders set against a red background. Below this is a band of cursive Arabic script, rendered in blue and set against a plain background, again flanked by gold-coloured split-palmette scroll borders. The stripe beneath this, which features borders identical to those above, shows an elegant gold-coloured *kufic* inscription, with red detailing, set against a deep-blue background. The final band consists of two superposed strips of gold-coloured split-palmette scrolls with red outlines.","short_description":"Textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail are typical of Fatimid Egypt, famous for the production of luxury textiles. Many were found in burials in Upper Egypt. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile linen, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira the 540s to 70s / AD second quarter of the 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 20.32 cm, width 26.67 cm.","method_for_datation":"The style of the inscription encountered on this fragment is closely related to a linen fragment with tapestry-woven silk elements in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva, which has been attributed to Fatimid Egypt during the 540s to 570s / second quarter of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","bibliography":"*Tissus d’Egypte: Témoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe – Xve siècles*, Collection Bouvier,Geneva / Paris 1993, pp. 250–1, cat. no. 151 (for a similar textile).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka","Fatimid textiles","Henry Wallis","kufic script","linen","silk","textile"],"materials":["Linen and woven silk."]},"07cdf5ca-173b-58b3-98fd-a1ff89450b73":{"name":"Boy's Vest","description":"This boy's vest, displayed at Tiraz, features a back panel crafted from traditional Syrian-made striped saya silk. Worn specifically during a circumcision ceremony, the festive garment is heavily embellished with an assortment of coins from various currencies, origins, and geographic regions. The vest originates from the Hebron villages and dates back to approximately 1930.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","place_of_production":"Hebron villages, Palestine","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["ceremony","Children","Clothing","dress","silk"],"materials":["Silk, Coins"]},"07cfbb4a-25e5-5ae3-a64e-9de990ccf477":{"name":"Bridal cushion","description":"This bridal cushion from Ma'an, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, reflects the town’s position as a crossroads of cultural exchange. Its embroidered designs and use of ikat textiles reveal connections with wider textile traditions from Central Asia, Turkey, and Syria, where ikat weaving was historically widespread and highly developed. These influences reached Ma'an through networks of travel, trade, pilgrimage, and migration, becoming integrated into local practices.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64 cm; width: 40 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Bride","embroidery","Furniture","marriage","wedding"],"materials":["Silk, cotton"]},"0a57eb56-35f8-5035-aa69-a4e1aa6f9983":{"name":"Textile panel with design of flowering plants and pools of coiled waves","description":"A velvet texile panel with designs of floral sprays and stylized ponds. The tan ground has a vertical pattern of conventionalized plant forms in browns and greens, with details in gold and silver, outlined in black silk, metallic thread (silver foil on a silk core). The panel is made of cut and voided supplementary warp pile in 5-harness satin foundation with supplementary weft (velvet).","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dimensions":"Length 113cm, width 69.9cm","place_of_production":"Yazd (Iran)","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Yazd (Iran)","obtention":"Museum purchase.","dynasty":"Safavids","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["Cut and voided velvet-weave silk with satin-weave foundation and silver and gilt thread brocading wefts"]},"0bdd9721-3f27-532b-aa49-d29c2756dbbe":{"name":"*Flight of the besieged and retreat of the Swiss who drown in great numbers in the Ticino*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here should be viewed immediately after the tapestry with *The taking of Mirabello Castle*, and it precedes the last in the series, *Flight of the French army and retreat of the Duke of Alençon across the Ticino*. In particular, from the juxtaposition of the three tapestries, one can reconstruct on the left the French encampment, bordered in the foreground by the walls of the Visconti Park and by the defensive system composed of a series of gabions, which one can also distinguish in the distance. On the right, one can recreate the landscape south of Pavia, distinguished by the presence of the small island of Gravellone and by the course of the waters of the Ticino.  \nDominating the tapestry is the depiction of the city of Pavia, bordered by walls, with the Visconti Castle on the left and the Covered Bridge on the right. This is the final phase of the battle: troops commanded by Antonio de Leyva burst out of the city besieged by the imperial troops and attack the French army from behind. In the centre, soldiers and civilians come out of their shelters, trying to flee, while several men, pushed towards the Ticino by the imperial cavalry, drown in the river. In the centre of the tapestry, one of the cavaliers of François de Laval, Count of Montfort, can be identified thanks to the writing embroidered on his horse’s harness.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528‒1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 424cm, W: 886cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"0c9e0529-7380-57a8-b3d5-151fa4c93eb2":{"name":"The revenge ground of al-Mukhtar (Persian: *Dar al-entegham-e Mokhtar*)","short_description":"The tragic martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson al-Husayn and his companions at Karbala' near Kufa, where they were massacred by an Umayyad army in 61/680, played an important role in the consolidation of the *Shi'i* ethos; it also led to the formation of radical trends among the *Shi'i*. The earliest of such trends became manifest in the movement of al-Mukhtar, who won control of Kufa in an open revolt in 66/685. Aiming to avenge al-Husayn’s murder, al-Mukhtar launched his own movement and proclaimed Ibn al-Hanafiyya, al-Husayn’s half-brother Muhammad, as the *Mahdi*, 'the divinely guided one', the messianic saviour imam and restorer of true Islam who would establish justice on earth and deliver the oppressed from tyranny.","type":"Textile; painting","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"1996","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"L: 295cm, W: 285cm","method_for_datation":"Personal documentation by the curator.","method_for_provenance":"Personal documentation by the curator.","provenance":"Iran, Esfahan","obtention":"Purchased 1996 in Isfahan by Dr Axel Steinmann, curator at the Museum für Völkerkunde, during his fieldwork in Iran.","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"The revenge ground of al-Mukhtar\", in Anne-Marie Bouttiaux and Anna Seiderer (eds), *Fetisch Modernity, exhibition catalogue*, Tervuren: Royal Museum for Central Africa, 2011: 118.  \nSteinmann, Axel, \"Heroic Stories\", in Christian Schicklgruber (ed), *Weltmuseum Wien, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 110-113.","materials":["Cloth with painted and stamped designs"]},"0e006c19-7de8-5aa1-b346-0a40a7dbcbd8":{"name":"Bow quiver","short_description":"This bow quiver was in the collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (AD 1529–95) at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck. Its exterior is edged in red and covered all over with delicate spiral vines made of white leather and set with dark-blue lamellae (scales); two red medallions are placed among them. The back of the quiver is dark-blue except for a narrow edging and two oval gold medallions. The arrow quiver is identical and complements the bow quiver.","type":"Arms","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 956–957 / AD c. 1550","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Height: 68cm, Width: 35cm","method_for_datation":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","method_for_provenance":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","bibliography":"Beaufort-Spontin, Christian and Pfaffenbichler, Matthias, *Meisterwerke der Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer*, Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, 2005.  \nGamber, Ortwin and Beaufort-Spontin, Christian, *Katalog der Leibrüstkammer II. Teil. Der Zeitraum von 1530-1560*, Busto Arsizio: Bramante, 1990.  \nGamber, Ortwin, Thomas, Bruno and Schedelmann, Hans, *Armi e Armature Europee*, Milan: Bramante, 1974.  \nThomas, Bruno, \"Aus der Waffensammlung in der Neuen Burg zu Wien: Orientalische Kostbarkeiten\", *Bustan*, 4 : 5 (1963/64).","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Matthias Pfaffenbichler, Tobias Roeder","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["armours","arms","collection","military object","military wear","Ottoman arms","ottoman empire","quiver","weapon"],"materials":["Damast, gold embroidery"]},"0e4485e1-3fb0-5d8c-a83c-5315bc85cb66":{"name":"*Kiswa* (tomb cover) for the Prophet of God, Ibrahim (Abraham).","description":"There was a tradition in both the Mamluk and the Ottoman periods, for sultans, noble personages of state, as well as the benevolent, to interest themselves in the tombs of the prophets and the devout by offering a *kiswa* (covering for a grave or tomb), and then to renew it each year or whenever necessary. The ritual draping of tombs and shrines were popular celebrations that took place in certain seasons every year. For the most part, this occurred in order to procure the good-will and approval of visitors to the tomb or shrine, and to enhance the popularity of the *kiswa*'s donor among the general public. It was during the Ottoman period in Palestine that there was a huge unparalleled interest in the tombs, shrines and holy places that were scattered throughout the region. This was within the context of the official interest in the Sufi orders, their sheikhs, and the venues where the rituals were practiced. An example of this veneration can be seen in the context of the tombs of the Prophets Moses, Samuel and David, and their wives, in al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).  \nThe *kiswa* exhibited here is made from woven green silk. The *kiswa* was produced in order to envelope the tomb completely, leaving only the tombstone visible, upon which was written the name of the deceased: “The Prophet of God, Ibrahim \\[Abraham\\]”. The *tughra* of the Ottoman sultan, Selim III (r. AH 1203-22/AD 1789-1807) is embroidered on the *Kiswa*, together with inscriptions that read, “This is a protector” and “revered”, in addition to other inscriptions that include religious supplications and Qur'anic verses.  \nThe official tradition as noted above, to send *kiswa*s to the tombs and shrines of venerated holy men and women, continued in Palestine until the end of the Ottoman period in 1916, when the tradition was officially stopped. At the popular level, however, locals who lived in the environs of these tomb sites and shrines continued preparing *kiswas* but they were no longer splendid, finely made textiles as had been the case during the period of the Ottoman sultans.","short_description":"The coverings of the prophets’ tombs were renewed every year in popular celebrations. The importance of these traditions increased during the Ottoman period. This covering woven of green silk envelops the tomb leaving only the tombstone on which is written the name of the deceased. The *tughra* of Ottoman Sultan Selim III is embroidered on it.","type":"Silk embroidery, silk thread, costume","holder":"Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif.","initial_owner":"The Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).","dates":"Hegira 1203–22 / AD 1789–1807.","location":"Jerusalem","dimensions":"Length 180 cm, width 210 cm.","method_for_datation":"The piece was dated by the inscription embroidered on it which bears the name of the donor, the Ottoman sultan, Selim III.","method_for_provenance":"It is likely that this piece was made in Syria or Istanbul in view of the similarities with other pieces made there, some of which are housed in Turkish museums, particularly in Istanbul.","provenance":"Probably produced in either Syria or Istanbul, but made specifically for the Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).","obtention":"The piece was transferred from al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil) to the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem at an unknown date.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_PA_EN_001","author":"Nazmi Al-Ju'beh","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["cloth","fabric","funerary object","Kiswa","silk","tomb"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silver silk threads."]},"123265a3-960f-5c76-9487-14f718823b74":{"name":"*Termeh* panel","short_description":"Very popular both in the Eastern world and in Europe, ‘Kashmir shawls’ (Pers. *termeh*) were produced not only in northern India but also in Iran, mostly in Kerman. *Termeh* panels, embroidered with metal thread (in the *sermeh duzi* technique) and occasionally with pearls, were treasured family possessions handed down from generation to generation. When used as wedding gifts they included inscriptions of good wishes to the bride and groom. This sumptuous *termeh* panel features scrolling vines and grapes embroidered with silver strips on the wool ground decorated with *botehs*. Various alternating metal strips and a profusion of pearls enhance the highly suggestive tactile quality of this exquisite embroidery.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 66cm, Width: 46cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by the Museum in 1959.","bibliography":"Dunca, M., *Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 46, no. 16.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Embroidery, termeh"],"materials":["Wool, silk braid, embroidery with silver strips, pearls"]},"14763417-a183-5949-ac5d-11f296d400e1":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"This hanging of red, yellow-golden and green silk is richly embroidered with silver and silver-gilt inscriptions and designs. Above, a lamp with invocations to Allah as the Opener or Judge (ya Fattah) appears suspended from an arched niche resting on two columns. Its spandrels display two roundels with the Islamic profession of Faith (shahada). Below, a quote from chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah), verse 197 of the Holy Qur’an appears: ‘…and the best provision is Al-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)’. In the lower half of the hanging, four roundels with the names of the rightly-guided caliphs surround the imperial Ottoman emblem or tughra of the sultan Abd al- Hamid II  (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD), who commissioned this curtain.. Hangings like this one may have been intended for the prayer niche of the Prophet’s mosque, as earlier examples of this type often include the inscription ‘this is the mihrab of the Prophet (pbuh)’.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation / Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira mid 13th century / AD mid 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2620 mm x 1430 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["shahada","tughra","tugra","sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and gilt silver thread"]},"14df710b-1ecd-5f46-9a55-9c8986e98145":{"name":"Fragment of golden lampas with capture scene","short_description":"Silk figured fabrics (patterns of which included images of people) were at the peak of the Safavid court fashion. A remarkable example of the type is this fragment of a golden lampas depicting a scene of captivity. One of the most technologically sophisticated and costly fabrics in Iran, the golden lampas provided up to 10 silk threads of different colours in the pattern. The inclusion of threads wrapped in gold or silver foil suggest that the fabric could be produced in *karkhane* – imperial workshops.  \nThe fragment is one of the two largest pieces among seven dispersed parts of a very costly man’s robe that probably belonged to some member of the Iranian Shah family. The scene featured on the lampas has long aroused great interest among researchers. Around a tree (sycamore or maple), where a large fairy bird is sitting on the branch, rides a horseman leading a prisoner. A little child sits behind the rider. Above the people a rooster flies towards a tree.  \nThe horseman is depicted in the characteristic Safavid outfit of the AD 16th century: a turban is wound around a tall Taj cap, the number of turban bangs symbolizes 12 righteous Shi‘ite imams.  \nThe idea to treat the scene as a political manifesto of the victorious campaigns of Shah Tahmasp I to Georgia (1540, 1553) was complemented by alternative *Sufi* interpretation of the subject. The scene of captivity was seen as an allegory of man on his spiritual path to God. Thus the horseman stands for the Teacher who leads the Disciple (captive) through the complex ways of learning towards a divine truth personified by the mythical ancient Iranian bird, Simurg (fairy bird).","type":"Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","owner":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD 16th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 109cm, Width: 34cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by Leon Guzalian (examination, 1955); Galina Lasikova (2003).","method_for_provenance":"Ассording to the entry in the Old Museum Inventory Register (1919-1940).","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenkos. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalised by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Bier, Carol (ed), *Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, 16th–19th Centuries*, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C.: Textile Museum, 1987.  \nBilenko, H. and Rudyck (Rudyk), H., *Oriental Collection*, guidebook, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2005.  \nLasikova, Galina, \"“The bird’s language” on the Safavid khil’at with capture imagery in Khanenkivski Chytannya\", in *Proceedings of the International Museum Conference*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2003.  \nRudyk, H. (ed), *Charisma of Iran. Persian art of 12th–19th centuries from museum collections of Ukraine*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2017.  \nThompson, Jon and Canby, Sheila, R. (eds), *Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran 1501–1576*, Milan: Skira, 2003.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Golden lampas","Iran","Safavid"],"materials":["lampas weaving","Silk, metal-wrapped thread"]},"167452fd-adc4-5a30-86d3-5bf301e4087f":{"name":"Inscribed textile (*tiraz*)","short_description":"This *tiraz* was made for the Fatimid caliph al-‘Aziz (Hegira 365–386 / AD 975–996). It testifies to the tractable nature of Fatimid society. Exceptionally, in addition to supplying the caliph’s titles, it gives the name of his chief minister or vizier Ibn Killis (served Hegira 366–380 / AD 977–90). Killis, who was of Jewish origin, was famous for the financial reforms that helped bring enormous prosperity to Egypt as well as to the vizier. The inscription reads,  \nPraise to God, Lord of the Worlds, may God bless Muhammad the Prophet. Assistance from God \\[to\\] Nizar Abu Mansur, the Imam al-‘Aziz billah, Commander of the faithful, God’s blessing upon him and upon \\[his pure ancestors\\]. From what was ordered by the respectable vizier Abu‘l-Faraj Ya‘qub ibn Yusuf \\[Ibn Killis\\], vizier of the Commander of the faithful, to be made in the year \\[three hundred\\] seventy-one.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira 371 / AD 981","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"39.4 x 69.2cm","method_for_datation":"It is dated Hegira 371 / AD 981.","method_for_provenance":"Most such *tiraz* were discovered in Egypt; furthermore, this example is inscribed in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-‘Aziz (Hegira 365–386 / AD 975-996).","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Maan Z. Madina (1926-2013), New York, until 2002 (sold to); LACMA, The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost.","bibliography":"Al-Imad, Leila S., *The Fatimid Vizierate, 969-1172*, Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1990: 80-96.  \nDaftary, Farhad and Zulfikar, Hijro, *The Ismailis, An Illustrated History*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2008: 89.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Gifts of the Sultan: The Art of Giving at the Islamic Courts*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011: 36-37, 212, fig. 29.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Lo Terrenal y lo divino: Arte islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles*, Santiago, Chile: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015: 51-53.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Rev. ed., Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005: 22, fig. 16.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["caliph al-‘Aziz","calligraphy","court life","Fatimid textiles","ibn killis","Imam","Jewish","royal manufacture","workshop"],"materials":["Linen and silk","tabby and tapestry weave"]},"16bb32a1-7942-5864-81b6-113096c7ab5e":{"name":"Towel (*peşkir*) with design of floral motifs","description":"A scarf made of fine white muslin, the ends beautifully embroidered with large and small flowers and leaves in madder shades of silk and with tinsel, and finished with a fringe of gold thread.","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira late 12th to early 13th century / AD late 18th to early 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length 147.3cm, width 63.5cm","place_of_production":"Turkey","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Museum purchase.","dynasty":"Ottoman","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["Silk and metallic yarn embroidery on cotton"]},"176c309e-be45-54b8-81a1-917857d46338":{"name":"Textile","description":"This textile was displayed in the exhibition about Islamic Art held in Munich in 1910, as part of the Miquel i Badia collection. Afterwards it was acquired by Lázaro Galdiano, one of the most important Spanish art collectors. It is important to note Lazaro Galdiano's interest in and art appraisal of objects from the Spanish Muslim period. He was one of the earliest collectors of Arab art in Spain. The decoration is similar to the Golden Room of the Alhambra palace and it could be the Mohammad V period.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Nasrid period (1232-1492); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"42,9 x 30,8 cm","provenance":"Spain","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art","islamic influence","orientalism","collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; lampas weave"]},"18eaab56-4106-57be-8e1b-519c5c4f9546":{"name":"Arrow quiver","short_description":"This arrow quiver was in the collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (AD 1529–95) at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck. The quiver is edged in red and decorated all over with delicate vines made of white leather set with dark-blue lamellae (scales).","type":"Arms","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 956–957 / AD c. 1550","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Height: 42cm, Width: 26cm","method_for_datation":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","method_for_provenance":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","bibliography":"Beaufort-Spontin, Christian and Pfaffenbichler, Matthias, *Meisterwerke der Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer*, Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, 2005.  \nGamber, Ortwin and Beaufort-Spontin, Christian, *Katalog der Leibrüstkammer II. Teil. Der Zeitraum von 1530-1560*, Busto Arsizio: Bramante, 1990.  \nGamber, Ortwin, Thomas, Bruno and Schedelmann, Hans, *Armi e Armature Europee*, Milan: Bramante, 1974.  \nThomas, Bruno, \"Aus der Waffensammlung in der Neuen Burg zu Wien: Orientalische Kostbarkeiten\", *Bustan*, 4 : 5 (1963/64).","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Matthias Pfaffenbichler, Tobias Roeder","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["armours","arms","collection","military object","military wear","Ottoman arms","ottoman empire","quiver","weapon"],"materials":["Coloured leather, linen"]},"198af7b8-d119-53c0-a03b-ca6e94c08acd":{"name":"Stole, mirror dressing (*tenchifa*).","description":"A long stole embroidered on both ends and on part of the sides.  \nAt the ends, the decoration is divided into two sections that precede a fillet of silk thread spirals and a golden thread braid.  \nThe first section consists of a frieze of wild roses arranged around a cruciform pistil and stylised serrated horseshoe hyacinths arranged obliquely around the fleurons.  \nThe second section consists of a bouquet of flowers growing from a thick undulating line in green silk representing foliage from which the stems and stylised flowers emerge. The ovoid medallion with serrated edges that finishes it is reminiscent of the pomegranate. The borders between the two end compositions are decorated with floral motifs suggesting small butterflies and finished with a golden braid.  \nAll of these motifs would have been embroidered by women with brightly and harmoniously coloured thread. The black silk line that surrounds them enhances the design.  \nStoles of this type were hung around mirror frames during festivals to ward off the evil eye. Although the composition and floral motifs are borrowed from the vegetal embroidery of the Algerian Ottomans, the very free stylisation distances it from this original model and sets the piece apart, constituting a genre in itself.","short_description":"This long stole is embroidered on both ends and part of the sides and would have been hung around mirror frames on feast days to ward off the evil eye. Its compositions and floral motifs, although stylised, are borrowed from the plant repertoire of Algerian Ottoman embroidery.","type":"Stole, silk","holder":"Museum of the Udayas.","dates":"Hegira 12th-13th centuries / AD 18th-19th centuries.","location":"Rabat.","dimensions":"Length 330 cm, width 54 cm.","method_for_datation":"Comparison with objects mentioned in published studies on the same type of decoration and object (see M. Guérard).","method_for_provenance":"This embroidery, the type of stole and the way it was used are all characteristic of Tetouan.","provenance":"Tetouan, Morocco.","obtention":"Purchased in 1987.","bibliography":"Guérard, M., “Les broderies de Tétouan”, *Hespéris-Tamouda*, X, fasc. 1 & 2, Rabat, 1969, pp.191–234.  \nMiège, J.-L., Benaboud, M. and Erzini, N., *Tétouan, ville andalouse marocaine*, Paris, 1996.  \nSoustiel, J., *L'art turc, céramique, tapis, étoffes, velours, broderies*, Paris 1852.","dynasty":"Alawid","author":"Naima El Khatib-Boujibar","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["floral decoration","geometric decoration","hyacinth","vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with silk and gold thread."]},"19babff5-1d6a-5c97-b999-58f49f1481b4":{"name":"Tiraz","short_description":"Fragmentary linen *tiraz* textile with an elegant and highly stylized incription executed with pen and ink, rendering part of a repetition of wishes to the owner \"Blessing from God, and may his greatness be exalted, and victory from God and may his greatness...\"","type":"Textile, garment","holder":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","dates":"Hegira 4th century / AD 10th century","location":"Kuwait City","provenance":"Egypt","dynasty":"Abbasid","keywords":["calligraphy","textile"]},"1b9107ef-851d-52ee-bc3e-ab6407fccbb8":{"name":"Sarong","short_description":"The harmonious marriage of the iridescent colours in Malay textiles is perhaps best seen in examples of finely woven *kain limar*. The single weft-ikat cloth, also known as *kain lemar* or *kain limau*, is principally produced in the state of Terengganu and Kelantan on the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula. While these cloths are now associated with the Sultanate of Terengganu, in the past they were also part of royal ceremonial costume in the Riau and Lingga archipelago, which lie between the Malay Peninsula and southern Sumatra.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"c. Hegira 1300-1400 / c. AD 1900-2000","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"103 x 210cm","provenance":"Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *The Message & The Monsoon: Islamic Art of Southeast Asia*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2005: 95.","materials":["Silk weft ikat with supplementary weft metal threads"]},"20111b76-70e4-5b40-874b-20a4d142f81d":{"name":"Fragment of woven silk.","description":"A blue silk woven with a quatrefoil design, bordered by inscriptions, and a polyfoil occupying the spaces in between. The inscription, written in Arabic reads: ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’. The development and chronology of Mamluk textile design has yet to be clearly defined. Mamluk silks and other textiles are exceedingly rare, and many of those that have survived have been retrieved from excavations of burials in Upper Egypt. Precious silks were used in the production of honorary robes, diplomatic gifts and high-class articles produced especially for export. Striped silks were particularly popular, and frequently the names and titles of sultans were incorporated into the design. Areas of Production for textiles such as this one included Asyut, a town in Upper Egypt, well-known for its high-quality linens and silks. Silks inscribed with the benediction ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’ are amongst the latest datable fabrics of the Mamluk era, the V&A in London holding several fragments with this feature.  \nIt has been suggested that fabrics such as this one may have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (AH 872–901 / AD 1468-96), whose official titles included ‘al-Ashraf’. Interestingly, blue textiles were often worn by *dhimmis* (the religious minorities)in the Mamluk period. Thus, a Coptic bishop buried at Qasr Ibrim in Upper Egypt, for example, was found wrapped in a blue-black woolen cloak.","short_description":"Mamluk silks are rare, but we know that they were used in the production of honorary robes, diplomatic gifts and high-class articles produced for export. Many bear the names and titles of sultans and this piece is assumed to have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (AH 872–901 / AD 1468–96).","type":"Mamluk woven silk textile","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 872–901 / AD 1468–96.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 41.91 cm, width 24.13 cm.","method_for_datation":"Mamluk silk fragments bearing the inscription ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’ are assumed to have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qa’itbay (872–901 / 1468–96). Stylistically, motifs on this silk fragment can also be compared with those occurring on contemporary metalwork.","method_for_provenance":"This item was retrieved from a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt and can be classified as having been produced in Mamluk Egypt on the basis of stylistic comparison with other Mamluk textile fragments.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This piece together with several other Fatimid fragments were acquired by the NMS from Henry Wallis in 1898. Wallis was a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","bibliography":"Atil, E., *Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks*, Washington D.C., 1981, pp.224–5. (for discussion on Mamluk textile production).","dynasty":"Mamluk","linkcatalogs":"IAM_EG_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["silk","Sultan Qaytbay","textile"],"materials":["Woven silk."]},"24d1b22a-7e02-5a13-97d1-ffbb62d62561":{"name":"Fragment from the internal *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"This fragment comes from the internal *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba which was presented by the Ottoman sultan ‘Abdülaziz (r. 1861–1876) in his first regnal year. It was the last internal *kiswa* to be sent by the Ottomans. It remained inside the Ka‘ba until 1936, when it was replaced by an Indian-made one. Later internal kiswas were woven in Mecca.  \nThe section preserved in fragment represents almost half of the loom width and an almost complete vertical repeat. The latter is made up of four zigzag bands. In the first wide band is the *shahada*, followed in a narrower band by phrases in praise of God. The third band has cartouches and roundels inscribed with invocations to God. The final narrow band has *sura* *al-Baqara*, II, verse 144, in part, ‘*We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque*’.","type":"Textile; woven textile; *kiswa*","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"1861–76","location":"London","dimensions":"45 x 35.5cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on published information.","provenance":"Turkey","bibliography":"Rif‘at Pasha, Ibrahim, *Mir’at al-haramayn*, vol. 1, Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, 1925: fig.113, opposite p.291.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Silk lampas, with satin ground and twill pattern"]},"24e0347f-f9f3-5254-ba16-aef618e16ba6":{"name":"Flag","short_description":"A piece of green Syrian silk fabric, inset on the top of the mast, which used to be carried during religious ceremonies. Trade and crafts were common activities in Jordan between the late 19th century and the earlier 20th century. These activities depended on migration and attracted groups of people who travelled or settled in the Jordanian territory to produce or sell products. Thus, the exchange of goods among different areas was very common, as exemplified by this object and many traditional dresses. Silk textiles were very common products in the Jordanian and Palestinian areas and were purchased from Syria, being an element in local fashion, both in Jordan and in Palestine.","type":"Cultic object","holder":"Jordan Museum for Costumes and Jewellery, Department of Antiquities","dates":"Early 20th century","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height 130 cm, Width 133 cm","provenance":"Palestine","author":"Huda Kilani","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["Syrian silk","religious ceremonies"],"materials":["Syrian silk fabric, local dyes"]},"2a768548-ee78-5645-b436-21f2d9bcf5cd":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A linen textile fragment comprising a horizontal panel of embroidered decoration with a repeat composition of two wider sections that alternate twice with two narrow sections. These are separated from each other by double borders in black wove. The wider panels have alternating blue and purple cursive inscriptions bordered by scrolling bands above and below. The narrow sections contain S-scrolls arranged vertically, beneath which is a continuous border of alternating inverted crescents and circles.","short_description":"Many Fatimid and Mamluk textiles have been found in burials in Upper Egypt, an area famous for its linen-weaving industry manned by Coptic Christian as well as Muslim textile workers. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira late 5th–7th century / AD 12th–13th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 38.10 cm, width 10.16 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been tentatively dated to the late 5th–7th / 12th–13th centuries on the basis of general similarities with other textiles of the Fatimid period.","method_for_provenance":"This textile comes from a tomb in al-Drounka, Egypt.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka","Fatimid textiles","textile"],"materials":["Woven and embroidered linen."]},"2d22b17c-980d-5bb0-b0d2-b23e4c02429f":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile with a cream velvet ground composed of two rectangular pieces. The entire surface is decorated with Arab writing and vegetal motifs.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"1901–1925","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"208 x 163 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design","Islamic influence"],"materials":["Silk; stencilled decoration"]},"2dd5e058-db6d-5ca4-b1c8-b47beedc0811":{"name":"Fragment from a tiraz.","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.  \nThe 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.'  \nOn 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.'  \nThe *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.","short_description":"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.","type":"Fatimid textile, linen, silk","holder":"Ribat Museum.","dates":"Hegira, last quarter of the 4th–first third of the 5th centuries / AD 10th–11th centuries.","location":"Monastir.","dimensions":"Oblong, length 55 cm x 24 cm.","method_for_datation":"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.","method_for_provenance":"The weaving method and the ownership by a Fatimid *caliph* both indicate that the cloth was made in Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"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.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Mourad Rammah","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"David Ash","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["calligraphy","embroidery","Fatimid textiles","tiraz","workshop"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with silk."]},"2e0c64a2-e482-5978-b566-da5cfa44d782":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"This fragment shows a typical motif with carnations placed in staggered rows and made with silver metal-wrapped threads on the dark red velvet ground.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 66 cm, length 165 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["fabric","floral motifs","Ottoman textiles","textile","Velvet"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"2e8eab67-4f84-5396-9c42-cb536c546cdd":{"name":"Body towel (*Peştamal*)","description":"The border, embroidered with metallic and coloured threads at both ends, is worked in a medallion style. Between three metallic floral and leaf motifs, a single metallic cypress motif is placed.","type":"Fabric","holder":"İznik Museum Directorate","dates":"AH 13th / AD 19th century","location":"Bursa","dimensions":"Length: 175cm, width: 91cm","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["cotton","embroidery","Ottomans","towel","water"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"310e79cc-ee2c-5e1c-89d1-fcfcb20cf00e":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Holy Ka‘ba in Makkah al-Mukarramah","short_description":"This curtain, known as *sitara*, *burdah* or *burqa* and embroidered with qur’anic quotations, forms the most elaborate part of the *kiswah* textile cover which encloses the Holy Ka‘ba in Makkah. This example was made under the patronage of King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, who ascended the throne in AH 1405 / AD 1985.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation","dates":"Hegira after 1405 / AD 1985","location":"Sharjah","provenance":"Makkah al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia","dynasty":"Saudi Arabia","keywords":["Curtain","Door","hajj","Holy Ka'ba","Makkah al-Mukarramah","patronage","pilgrimage","textile"]},"316cb158-b737-5946-b4f5-2c1e7c67bb07":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile decorated with floral and geometrical motifs, very similar to those of the Alhambra Palace.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1350","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"36 x 23 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid influence","Collecting","Design"],"materials":["Silk and metallic thread; lampas weave with a satin ground"]},"328d4cd7-8859-5b3d-96c3-05fe9c191bbc":{"name":"Textiles","description":"These textiles were part of the famous Alhambra wall hangings that decorated different Alhambra rooms. Each is from a different Nasrid king: Yusuf I (textile 1607), Muhammad III (textile 1606) and Muhammad V (textile 1719).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Nasrid period (1232-1492); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"1694: 103,5 x 41 cm; 1607: 17,8 x 11,2 cm; 1719: 102 x 77,5 cm; 1606: 40,5 x 18,6 cm","provenance":"Granada?","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art","islamic influence","orientalism","collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; lampas weave"]},"33c038eb-514c-5d28-8576-edfccf3f87e8":{"name":"Fragment of silk lampas with geometric pattern","short_description":"Since the 12th century, Granada has been the leading centre of the Pyrenees for the production of high quality silk. This costly golden-thread silk lampas dated to the 14th century could be used as interior decoration in one of the Granada palaces. A very similar fabric is known to be used for interior decoration in the famous Alhambra Palace.  \nThe geometric pattern includes favourite Muslim motifs: octagonal stars and rosettes, braids, stylized plant elements. Historians suppose the common origin of the textile décor with that of Nasrid architecture and, first of all, with the carved and mosaic ornamental panels of Alhambra.  \nQuite rare is the motif of paired heraldic birds sitting in the tree branches. It may be hypothetically considered as an image of Simurg (Senmurv), the holy King of the birds in the folklore of Iranians and Turks. The literate Muslims of Nasrid Spain were well versed in the key narratives of the Near and Middle East culture due to Arabic translations of books, particularly of Abu l-Qasim Ferdowsi's poem Book of Kings (\"*Shahnama*\").","type":"Fabric; Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD 14th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 46.5cm, Width: 32.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by M. Vyazmitina (publication, 1930, date and origin), H. Rudyk (examination, 2017, date and origin specified).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Granada, Islamic Spain","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalized by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Dodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed), *Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain*, exhibition catalogue, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992.  \nVyazmitina, M. (ed), *Mystetstvo krain islamu (Art from Islamic Countries)*, catalogue, VUAN Museum of Art, Kyiv: All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 1930.","dynasty":"Nasrid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Fabrics","Granada","Islamic Spain","lampas","Nasrid","silk"],"materials":["lampas weaving","Silk, Metal Thread"]},"34a076dd-a17c-5255-8e20-be760dc55f04":{"name":"Kilim (fragment)","description":"The fragment shown here is the upper right corner of a two-panel, large format Central Anatolian kilim, of which only this part of one panel has survived. Such pieces were produced for personal use and were part of the dowry. They served primarily as a representative cover for bedding and containers and were stacked directly opposite the tent entrance, clearly visible to any guest entering the tent. The fragment of this white-ground Konya kilim, with its massive hook motif, features individual scattered motifs in brocaded technique, which indicate the weaving direction of this slit tapestry. It shows the subdued coloration typical of the Konya region in the early 19th century.","type":"Cover/hanging","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"19th century, probably first half","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 123cm, Width: 99cm","provenance":"Central Anatolian, Konya region","obtention":"Donated in 1979 by Dresden painter Wilhelm Müller (1928–99) from his private collection with intent to begin a museum collection. In the last decade before the Berlin Wall came down Müller collected oriental rugs, carpets and flat weaves for the Ethnographic Museum of Dresden in the Dresden-Leipzig-Berlin region to secure remaining rural and nomadic textiles from the 19th and beginning 20th century. Textiles were acquired from private households, private and state shops and even from demolition sites or waste containers.","bibliography":"Brüggemann, W. and Foitl, G., *Yayla: Form und Farbe in türkischer Textilkunst*, Frankfurt am Main: Museum für Kunsthandwerk, 1993: plate 60.  \nFrauenknecht, B., *Anatolische Kelims / Anatolian Kilims*, Nuremberg: Galerie Frauenknecht, 1982: no.17.  \nFrauenknecht, B. with Franses, M. and Mellart, J., *Early Turkish Tapestries / Frühe Türkische Tapisserien*, Nuremberg: Bertram Frauenknecht, 1984: plate 38.  \nPetsopoulos, Y. (ed) and Balpinar, B., *100 Kelims: Meisterwerke aus Anatolien*, Munich: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, 1991: 76.","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Fragment","Kilim","Konya"],"materials":["slit tapestry weave, floating wefts","wool"]},"356abb7a-adfb-5423-8a02-b389733f2355":{"name":"Textile","description":"Velvet with silver stencilled decorations of arabesques with starts of six points. These decorations recalled the plaster decorations of the Spanish Muslim interiors.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"295 x 69 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design","Islamic influence","Nasrid influence"],"materials":["Cotton and metal, velvet"]},"35d28d2d-69ab-5ec0-a006-32f2135420d3":{"name":"Textile with prayer niche (*mihrab*).","description":"The fabric, made of red, black and yellow-brown silk, is decorated with motifs embroidered with silver- and gold-plated copper wire woven into a cotton base. The basic decorative element consists of a large prayer niche (*mihrab*), at the centre of which, at the top, there hangs a mosque lamp. Above and beside it there are scrolls containing decorative epigraphic motifs. The background of the fabric, with the exclusion of the inside of the niche where there are naturalistic floral motifs, is decorated with arabesque elements consisting of intertwined palmettes of various shapes or half-palmettes surrounded by spirals.","short_description":"This fabric, embroidered with metal thread and decorated with a prayer niche (*mihrab*), a large mosque lamp and epigraphic motifs, is typical of late Ottoman textile production.","type":"Silk, satin, metal thread","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 12th–13th century / AD 18th–19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 265 cm, width 160 cm.","method_for_datation":"The suggested dating and origin of the object are based on the decorative style, which relates to late Ottoman textile production (12th–13th / 18th–19th centuries).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Barista, H. ö., “Turkish Embroideries: Later Period of The Ottoman Empire”, *Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art*, Warsaw, 1990, pp.37–42.  \nGönül, M., “Some Turkish Embroideries in the Collection of the Topkapisaray Museum in Istanbul”, *Kunst des Orients*, 1969, VI, pp.43–76.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["calligraphy","embroidery","floral decoration","mihrab","prayer niche","textile"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with metal thread."]},"3617cdf7-a6c7-5a09-b369-f188ba752294":{"name":"Two fragments of brocade with parrot, butterfly, deer and hare pattern","short_description":"Two nearly equal in size square-shaped fragments of figured silk brocade are stitched together on a support. \"A flower and a bird\", a favourite love theme in Persian culture, is further developed here through adding images of butterfly, deer and hare. Incorrectness in scales of animals indicates a semantic hierarchy in which the bird and the flower remain the most important.  Persian silver and golden-thread brocades and other elite textiles were the key item of Iranian artistic production and exports during the Safavid era, being the height of fashion both among Iranian and European aristocracy, as well as Christian clergy.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","owner":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"First half of AD 17th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 42cm, Width: 88cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by H. Rudyk (publication, 2017, date, origin).","method_for_provenance":"Ассording to the entry in the Old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko.","bibliography":"Canby, Sheila R., *The Golden Age of Persian Art, 1501–1722*, New York: Abrams, 2000.  \nFloor, Willem, *The Persian Textile Industry in Historical Perspective, 1500–1925*, Paris: Harmattan, 1999.  \nRudyk, H. (ed), *Charisma of Iran. Persian art of 12th–19th centuries from museum collections of Ukraine*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2017.  \nThompson, Jon with Shaffer, Daniel and Mildh, Pirjetta (eds), *Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian World 1400–1700*, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2010.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["brocade","Iran","Safavid"],"materials":["brocaded","Silk, metal-wrapped thread"]},"37c92bab-1f2f-56f9-9546-859ab0fb7525":{"name":"Textile fragment, green with gold-coloured floral scrolls","short_description":"This textile fragment came into the museum’s textile collection through the purchase of textile artefacts negotiated by the Aachen Canon Franz Bock in 1865. The decoration of the fragment consists of stylised flowers and palmettes. During the Middle Ages, valuable mobile artefacts such as textiles arrived from east to west on the trade routes or through the custom of diplomatic gifts. The repertoire of motifs and forms of these textiles reveal the influence of various cultures.","type":"Central Asian textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"14th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 34cm, W: 35.7cm","provenance":"Central Asia","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Bock, Franz, *Katalog der ehemaligen Bock'schen Sammlung von Webereien und Stickereien des Mittelalters und der Renaissance*, (Jetzt Eigenthum des k. k. Oesterreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie), Vienna: Gerold, 1865.","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-90140","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Central Asia","floral decoration","silk","Textile fragments"],"materials":["Silk, gilt membrane strip"]},"38408d83-304f-5d3b-ba1f-3b4dc4fb028b":{"name":"Curtain for the *minbar* of the Meccan sanctuary, with the name of King Faruq I of Egypt","short_description":"This is an exceptionally fine example of the high quality of embroidery produced by the craftsmen of Dar al-Kiswa in the mid 20th century. Very few curtains for the Meccan *minbar* survive, and none of the known examples predates the early 20th century. This is probably one of the last ones made, as Egypt stopped sending curtains for the Meccan *minbar* around that time.  \n  \nThe top panel is inscribed, ‘God Almightly said in his revered book’. The three lines below have *sura al-Jumu‘a* (LXII), verse 9, which appropriately mentions the call to prayer on Fridays. The last panel states that ‘This sitara for the minbar of the sacred House of God was ordered by him who depends on God, the king of Egypt Faruq I, may God grant him succor, in the year 1365’.","type":"Textile; Mecca *minbar* curtain; *sitara*; *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1365 / AD 1946","location":"London","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","obtention":"Christie’s, London, sale of 26 April 2012, lot 360.","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nRif‘at Pasha, Ibrahim, *Mir’at al-haramayn*, vol. 1, Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, 1925: figure 96 (between pp.255–6).","dynasty":"House of Muhammad ‘Ali","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Dark blue silk, with beige silk appliqués, relief-embroidered in silver wire over cotton thread padding"]},"3e86a5e0-7d9c-53ee-a0db-449ac4bf412d":{"name":"Hand-towel (*Peşkir*)","description":"A densely woven, cream-coloured cotton towel with fringed short edges. The border is embroidered in red thread with a running water motif. The main border features six stylised floral motifs worked in sequence. The embroidery employs the counted-thread technique using green, pink, brown, purple, yellow, and red threads. The towel is stained in places.","type":"Fabric","holder":"Aydın Museum Directorate","dates":"AH late 13th-early 14th / AD late 19th-early 20th century","location":"Aydın","dimensions":"Height: 72.5cm, width: 53cm","place_of_production":"Aydın","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["cotton","hand-towel","Ottomans","water"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"4110beeb-d623-5316-b3ea-13f8ecd8e3db":{"name":"Mahmal","short_description":"This ceremonial *mahmal* consists of a tent-like cotton cloth embroidered with gold and silver threads. Placed upon a wooden frame (litter) on a camel’s back, the *mahmal* would bear the *kiswa* (Kaaba covering) and other religious items to Mecca in a pilgrimage procession.  \n  \nThis example from Ottoman Turkey features the Mamluk yellow colour embellished with the Throne verse *(Ayat al-Kursi)*, the Muslim invocation (*Basmala*), and the declaration of faith *(Shahada)* in *thuluth* calligraphy. The signature of the Ottoman sultan is visible in *tughra* script.  \n  \nDuring the *hajj* or pilgrimage season, the caravan would parade the streets of Cairo in a festival accompanied by musicians before embarking on the journey to Saudi Arabia. The *mahmal* reminds of a wedding procession and carries feminine connotations through its familiarity with the *howdaj* used to transport women hidden away from the public eye.  \n  \nMuslim rulers would commission a *mahmal* in an opportunity to highlight their sovereignty, taste and piety. Although the legend of Mamluk Sultanah Fatima Shajarat al-Durr associated the ruler with the first *mahmal*, scholars debate the first appearance with earlier references recounting Zubaydah, the wife of Harum al Rashid, using a palanquin in a pilgrimage procession from Baghdad to Mecca.","type":"Religious relics","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"19th century","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 164cm, Width: 130cm, Height: 148.5cm","place_of_production":"Turkey","method_for_datation":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, embroidery and style.","method_for_provenance":"This mahmal was used to carry the kiswa to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.","provenance":"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mecca","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Behrens-Abouseif, D., \"The mahmal legend and the pilgrimage of the ladies of the Mamluk court\", *Mamluk Studies Review*, 1 (1997): 87–96.  \nSardi, M., \"Weaving for the Hajj under the Mamluks\", *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, (2013): 169-174.  \nWasti, S. T., \"The Ottoman Ceremony of the Royal Purse:, *Middle Eastern Studies*, 41 : 2 (2005): 193–200.  \nYoung, W., \"The Kaʿba, Gender, and the Rites of Pilgrimage\", *International Journal of Middle East Studies*, 25: 2 (1993): 285–300.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Kaaba","Kiswa","Mahmal","Mecca","Saudi Arabia","Textiles"],"materials":["Cotton, silk, gold, silver","embroidery"]},"4454c9bf-8d06-539a-b793-d2ce0b56e6f8":{"name":"Pearl Diver’s Nose Clip","short_description":"This simple, but effective nose clip, known as futam (pl. aftama) in the Gulf region, was traditionally made of horn, wood or occasionally tortoise shell. Historical sources reaching back to the 4th century H/ 10th century AD already describe the clips' distinctive 'arrow' or 'scissor' shape, which remained largely unchanged until modern times. Equipped only with his noseclip, finger guards (khubat), occasionally a protective suit against jelly fish (libas al-ghaws) and a basket or bag (dyyin) for the oysters, a pearl diver would descend 50-60 times every day to bring up as many oysters as he could.","type":"Horn pearl diver's nose clip on cotton string","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Length of the horn nose clip c. 60 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["futam, aftama","khubat","libas al-ghawas","dyyin"],"materials":["Horn and cotton string"]},"44836d48-50be-5459-bb62-c61172746432":{"name":"Festive women's dress from Ma'an","description":"The most vibrant costumes in Jordan originate from Ma'an, a historic crossroads for traders and pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the Hajj. This festive women's dress, distinguished by its striking combination of colours and textiles, is constructed from striped cashmere saya fabric and Syrian ikat in a bold zigzag pattern.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1925","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 158 cm; width: 138 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["hajj","pilgrimage","Textile, Clothing","Tradition"],"materials":["Silk"]},"449540fc-d407-5cab-94fb-482eb3398f8e":{"name":"Horse Caparison with Design of Floral Morifs","short_description":"A horse caparison whose surface is divided into bands and narrow strips containing floral motifs. The ornament of the bands consists of a repeat pattern of floral devices in yellow, red, green, and light and dark blue, on a white, yellow, and blue ground, or of a wavy scroll bearing rosettes, leaves, and buds in the above colors on a red or blue ground. The narrow strips have a wavy floral scroll. The design of the border and of the guard stripes is identical to that of the field. The wool is woven in the *Soumak* tapestry technique.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 188cm x Width: 157.5cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Iran, Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Asia","Caparison","horse","Iran","Persian","textile","wool"],"materials":["wool"]},"461e1b34-d976-5ed9-8d53-d69810250d6c":{"name":"Tomb cover.","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.  \nIn 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.","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.","type":"Ottoman carpet, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 231 cm, width 78 cm.","method_for_datation":"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).","method_for_provenance":"Funerary textiles of this type are ascribed to Ottoman Turkey (see Atasoy *et. al*, 2000; *Türkische Kunst*, 1985).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchased from Lisbet Holmes Ltd., London in 1981.","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.  \nBlair, 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).  \nScarce, J., *Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior*, Edinburgh, 1996, p.106 (where item is illustrated).  \n*Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit*, exhibition catalogue, Recklinghausen, 1985, p.265, cat. no. 5/18.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["funerary object","Kiswa","Shahada"],"materials":["Woven silk rendered in red, green and gold."]},"461e827a-157a-5afd-aba7-850f0e156798":{"name":"Banner","short_description":"Inscribed with the names of God, the Prophet Muhammad and the first four leaders of the Muslim community, and bordered by Qur’anic verses, this silk *sanjak* (shield-shaped banner) displays a two-bladed sword with a dragon-headed hilt. Referred to as Dhu’l Fiqar and associated with military victory, this sword is said to have belonged to ‘Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. While Ottoman banners similar to this one were used as military insignia from the 15th century onward, this example bears an early 19th century date, and may have been borne instead by the faithful during pilgrimage to Mecca.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Dated Hegira 1235 / AD 1819–20","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 294cm, W: 217.2cm","provenance":"Probably Istanbul, Turkey","obtention":"Fletcher Fund, 1976  \nVendor: Ahuan Islamic Art, Panama  \nFormer owner: Private collection, France (before 1939–1976; sale, Hôtel Drouot Rive Gauche)  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Ahuan Islamic Art, Panama, 1976; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Ekhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 326–27, no. 232, ill. 326 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, *How to Read Islamic Calligraphy*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018: 15, 17, ill. fig. 4.  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 1976-1977, Complete List 1976-1977\", *Archives of Asian Art*, XXXI (1977–1978): 139.  \nPhipps, Elena, \"Cochineal Red: The Art History of a colour\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, (Winter 2010): 44, ill. fig. 75 (colour).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1976","keywords":["Anatolia","Arabic inscription","brocade","calligraphy","cloth","cypress","fabric","gold","hajj","inscription","Istanbul","Lampas weave","Ottoman","Ottoman Silk","Ottoman textile","religious object","Shi'a","silk","sword","symbol","textile","Thuluth","Turkey"],"materials":["lampas, brocaded","Silk, metal wrapped thread"]},"4884a720-8e5b-52db-b680-609daaf48e72":{"name":"Flag of the Italian Socialist Party’s local branch in a small village near Turin (Cafasse Torinese), bearing the image of a worker breaking a sword (an icon of antimilitarism)","short_description":"The Italian Socialist Party opposed Italian participation in World War I. After the government and the King decided to enter the war on the side of French and Britain, the Socialist’s Party line became “né aderire, né sabotare” (neither support, nor sabotage). Anti-war sentiments remained widespread among workers and peasants. In August 1917, without any prior organisation by the Socialist Party or by the trade union, spontaneous bread riots erupted in Turin: women led marchers that demanded bread and the end of the war, and they looted shops and barracks. Such protests were harshly repressed.  \nWar casualties were very high: 650,000 military deaths, 950,000 wounded, 600.000 prisoners of war or missing.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"1920","location":"Rome","dimensions":"84 x 95 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"48f83022-a45d-5b11-b4e5-88c259a5ca69":{"name":"Textile fragment","short_description":"This textile exhibits bands of varying patterns including interlacing calligraphic inscriptions. Here, the texts convey wishes for happiness, good fortune and prosperity. The hues of the brightly-coloured fragment, with its contrasting red, green and gold, characterize the textiles produced during the Nasrid and later periods in Spain and North Africa. Its appearance is in sharp contrast to textiles produced in earlier periods, which exhibit a lighter, more delicate palette of minty greens, light blues and a heavy use of golden metal-wrapped threads.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira c. 7th century / AD 14th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 102cm, W: 36.3cm; Mount: L: 114.9cm, W: 50.2cm, D: 2.5cm","provenance":"Probably Spain","obtention":"Fletcher Fund, 1929  \nVendor: Adolph Loewi, Venice  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Adolph Loewi, Venice, until 1929; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Aanavi, Don, \"Western Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 27/ 3 (November 1968): 200, ill. (b/w).  \nAli, Wijdan, *The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art : From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries*, Jordan: The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan, 1999: 109, ill. fig. 61 (b/w).  \nDimand, Maurice S., *A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930: 228–29, ill. fig. 142 (b/w).  \nDimand, Maurice S., *A Handbook of Muhammadan Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944: 276, ill. fig. 184 (b/w).  \nDodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed), Grabar, Oleg, Vallejo Triano, Antonio, Walker, Daniel S., Holod, Renata, Robinson, Cynthia, Zozaya, Juan, Casamar Pérez, Manuel, Ewert, Christian, Rossello Bordoy, Guillermo, Partearroyo, Cristina, Al Khemir, Sabiha, Cabanelas Rodriguez, Dario, Dickie, James, Bermudez Lopez, Jesus, Fairchild Ruggles, D., and Vernet, Juan, *Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 335, no. 97, ill. (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 56, 81–82, no. 48, ill. 81 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam and Moore, Claire (ed), *Art of the Islamic World. A Resource for Educators*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012: 82–83, 118–19, ill. pls. 13, 22.  \nGarcía Millán, Noemi, *Ibn Khaldun: The Mediterranean in the 14th Century. Rise and Fall of Empires. Vol. 2*, Seville: Real Alcazar, 2006: 160–61, ill. 161 (colour).  \nWalker, Daniel S., Ponce Guadián, Arturo, Babaie, Sussan, Carboni, Stefano, Froom, Aimee, Swietochowski, Marie Lukens, Masuya, Tomoko, Daskalakis-Matthews, Annie Christine, Kahil, Abdallah and Kessler, Rochelle, *Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994-Enero de 1995*, Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994: 274–75, no. 115, ill. 275 (colour).  \nWelch, Stuart Cary, *The Islamic World. Vol. 11*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987: 65, ill. fig. 47 (colour).","dynasty":"Nasrid","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1929","keywords":["abstract decoration","Al-Andalus","architectural motifs","Fragment","geometric decoration","geometric design","geometric patterns","inscription","Isalmic Spain","kufic","lampas","nashki","Nasrids","script","silk","Spain","textile","textile fragment","Thuluth"],"materials":["Lampas","Silk"]},"4a45199e-3af5-504d-9932-a1e4ed67dc93":{"name":"Printed cotton textile fragment.","description":"This cotton textile fragment is decorated with a printed design distributed along two bands. The upper band is narrow and consists of a repeated inscription in Mamluk *thuluth* script which reads: 'Al-sabr ni'm al-nasir li kul shay'in akhir' ('Patience is blessed with success and everything has an end'). The inscription is executed in a style where the letters are interwoven and the bases are raised in such a manner that equidistant spaces are created between them. These spaces are adorned by decorative units consisting of plaited lines in the form of braids.  \nThe lower band is wider than the upper and decorated with ornamentation distributed along four rows, consisting of two repeating and alternating decorative units: an eight-pointed star and a circular form within which are two concentric circles. The stars and circles in each row are organised so that the arrangement in the preceding row is opposite to that which follows. Each star is decorated with stylised floral designs, whereas the outer circle of the roundel is ornamented with a braided pattern, followed on the inside by a series of consecutive dots, which are followed in turn by the decorative form called '*Dawama'* (vortex). This is a decorative form that was widespread in Mamluk art especially in ornamental metal objects.  \nEgypt was famed for printed cotton textiles during the Mamluk period which was greatly influenced by trade with India, from where Egypt imported printed cotton clothing as well as raw cotton. The Mamluk craftsmen knew many different printing techniques, amongst which was wood-block printing with raised and sunken designs, and wax-resist wood-block printing. This textile fragment might have been part of a dress, curtain or perhaps more likely to have come from the cover of a counterpane, as it is comparable to a similar one housed in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.","short_description":"The weaving industry in Mamluk Cairo included cotton and silk textiles. Some textiles were embroidered with silk while others, like this cotton piece, were block-printed. It bears a well-known expression indicating that patience is the best policy.","type":"Printing, textile, cotton","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 8th century / AD 14th century.","location":"Cairo","dimensions":"Length 41 cm, width 36 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile fragment was dated based on the style of the inscription, written in the Mamluk *thuluth* script. The similarities of the decorative components on this piece to other designs, especially on dated metal objects, also helped to narrow the time frame of its manufacture, especially the decorative motif known as '*Dawama'*. Furthermore, the word 'Nasir' which appears in the inscription, might be an reference to Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun who ruled in the latter half of the 7th / 13th century and throughout the first four decades – with the exception of almost one year – of the 8th / 14th century.","method_for_provenance":"The type of decorative motif found on this textile fragment was used frequently by Mamluk craftsmen. Furthermore Egypt was famed for its printed cotton textiles.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The textile was purchased in 1928 from a dealer in antiquities, Albert Abimayo.","bibliography":"Atil, E., *Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks,* Washington D.C., 1987.  \nBaker, P., *Islamic Textiles,* London, 1995.  \nHamdi, A., et al, *Katalog Ma'rid al-fan al-islāmi fi misr \\[Catalogue of the Islamic Art Exhibition in Egypt\\],* Cairo, 1969.  \nMaher, S., *Al-Nasij al-Islami \\[Islamic textiles\\]*, Cairo, 1977.  \nPfister, R., **Les toiles imprimées de Fostat et l'Hindoustan**, Paris, 1938.","dynasty":"Mamluk","linkcatalogs":"IAM_EG_EN_001","author":"Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Selim","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["cotton","printed cotton","printing","textile.","Thuluth","vortex"],"materials":["Cotton plain-woven and decorated with monochrome stamped block-printing."]},"4ce02a11-07e9-50f5-a7d7-3651d7dd3510":{"name":"Textile fragment with cockerel medallions.","description":"A plain-woven silk textile fragment thought to come from a shirt. The weave has a pattern inlaid with extra wefts of silver and gold strips in the manner of brocading. The colour scheme is predominantly red, with detailing in blue and yellow. The design consists of lozenge-shaped cartouches formed from individual flowers, these enclose octagons with red, yellow and blue outlines and a central cockerel, facing left. The spaces in between the lozenges are filled with decorative bands formed from an alternating pattern of large stars and small octagons with central star motifs.","short_description":"The Muslim world was famous for its textile production, which built on Sassanid and Byzantine traditions and soon excelled these in sophistication and complexity. Court-sponsored workshops in Iraq, Iran, Egypt and later Spain competed to produce the most splendid silks as symbols of power and wealth.","type":"Woven silk textile","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 4th–5th century / AD 11th–12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 35.5 cm, width 22.8 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been dated tentatively to the 4th–5th / AD 11th–12th century on the basis of its clear stylistic relationship with post-Sasanian and early Islamic textiles.","method_for_provenance":"This textile has been associated with Abbasid Iraq on the basis of its clear stylistic relationship with post-Sassanid and early Islamic textiles from the region.","provenance":"Possibly Baghdad, Iraq.","obtention":"Purchased from Maurice Nahman, Paris, in 1934.","dynasty":"Abbasid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Baghdad","geometric decoration","silk"],"materials":["Woven silk with silver and gold threads."]},"4dd47636-3e12-5dc6-a5e7-714bce7a0020":{"name":"Canopy with lotus roundels","short_description":"A spectacular example of Indian silk weaving, this textile has possibly the widest loom-width of any known samite. A textile such as this, with a width in excess of 3 metres, would have stretched the effort and expense of drawloom weaving to their limits. Apart from the extreme technical difficulty of weaving a samite of this scale, the very high quality of yarns, dyes and workmanship suggest that it could have been woven only in the controlled production environment of a royal workshop.  \nA textile of this size would have been used as a canopy or ceiling cloth for a congregation hall or chapel at one of Tibet’s Buddhist establishments. However, this particular example, with its abstract roundels, could have served equally well as the ceiling of a royal tent at any Indian court.","type":"Textile; silk; samite (*samit*); canopy","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"AD 17th century","location":"London","dimensions":"250 x 318cm","method_for_datation":"Date and provenance are based on stylistic and technical grounds.","provenance":"India","bibliography":"Jain, R., in *Textiles, Carpets and Costumes*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume 14, Part Two. \\[In preparation / forthcoming\\]","dynasty":"Mughal","keywords":["India","Mughal","silk","textile"],"materials":["Silk samite"]},"517b9478-f631-507d-9c9f-4381e1f51b61":{"name":"Textile Panel","short_description":"Most of the textiles that survive from Fatimid Egypt, mainly fragments, were made or reused as burial shrouds and were preserved on account of the dryness of the Egyptian climate. This comparatively large panel may therefore derive from a funerary context; to compensate for areas of loss, it appears to have been pieced together in modern times from four parts of the same cloth, suggesting the original panel was once much longer. Its materials (bleached linen and silk), tapestry-weave technique, and bands of geometric decoration all mark it as a product of the Fatimid period. There are several bands of inscription that can be read as a repetition of “Help from Allah,” but because it lacks a royal or historical inscription, this cloth was likely made for a humbler clientele rather than for the ruling elite. However, it is otherwise very similar in style and manufacture to the so-called Cadouin Shroud (Abbey of Cadouin, France), inscribed in the name of the caliph al-Musta‘lī (r. Hegira 487-495/ AD 1094–1101).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira late 5th century / AD late 11th-early 12th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"85.4 x 84.5cm","method_for_datation":"Although it lacks an historical inscription, it is similar to the so-called Cadouin Shroud, inscribed in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-Musta‘lī (Hegira 487-495 / AD 1094–1101).","method_for_provenance":"The materials, tapestry-weave technique, and bands of geometric decoration mark it as a product of the Fatimid Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mallon (1884-1975, and 1890-1968, respectively), New York, until 1947 (sold to); LACMA, through the Hearst Foundation Fund.","bibliography":"Komaroff, Linda, *Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016: 124-125, cat. No. 55.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["Fatimid","geometric decoration","inscription","linen","panel","silk"],"materials":["Linen plain weave, linen with silk weft-faced tapestry weave"]},"517f2c6d-9b8c-5c89-b704-834aeb01c0f0":{"name":"Tiraz","short_description":"Textiles from the first centuries of the Islamic era survive mainly in the form of fragments, including *tiraz*, with their characteristic embroidered or woven inscriptions supplying the name and titles of the ruler. Such cloth was produced in state factories and was the exclusive preserve of the caliph. This piece belongs to the Tulunid period (Hegira 254–292 / AD 868–905) in Egypt, where most of the surviving *tiraz* were discovered. It is one of the largest such examples; however, the inscription is too fragmentary to be read.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira second half of the 3rd century–4th century / AD second half of the 9th century–10th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"30.2 x 123.8cm","method_for_datation":"The linen is undyed while the wool wefts are mustard, olive green and black, which are all typical of the Tulunid period. The letters comprising the *kufic* text are consonant with Tulunid architectural inscriptions as for example the wood inscribed panels from the mosque of Ibn Tulun, in Fustat, completed in Hegira 265 / AD 879.","method_for_provenance":"Most surviving *tiraz* come from Egypt, in this instance perhaps from a workshop of the Nile Delta.","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Maan Z. Madina (1926-2013), New York, until 2002 (sold to); LACMA, The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost.","bibliography":"Komaroff, Linda, “Islamic Art from the Madina Collection,” *Arts and the Islamic World*, 3 : 3 (1985): 60-62, fig. 2.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Gifts of the Sultan: The Art of Giving at the Islamic Courts*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011: 211, fig. 203.","dynasty":"Tulunid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["calligraphy","inscription","linen","royal manufacture","textile","Tulunid","wool","workshop"],"materials":["linen warps and wool and linen wefts","Wool and linen, tapestry-woven"]},"54253d73-c552-552c-b44e-749462babb24":{"name":"Embroidered linen.","description":"An embroidered textile thought to have served either as a cover for a divan (low sofa seat); a quilt facing; or as a hanging such as a curtain for a door. It is made up of three vertical lengths of linen sewn together and embroidered. The composition of wavy stems, leaves and tulips is inspired by AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman velvets, brocades and woven silks. The silk-thread colours of red, green, blue and yellow are typical of the time; the stitch used is a regular darning stitch with the length of four counted threads over the linen, and one under it. Red dominates the composition, covering most of the stems, all of the tulips, and some of the leaves. The blue is used on the leaves and the green is used to embroider the bases of the tulips and some of the stems. The yellow, which has largely faded, is used to fill in some of the gaps between all the other colours in the shapes of strokes and small buds. This textile has a border designed with a row of smaller red tulips and green stems with blue leaves, and yellow strokes and buds which alternate in their leaning, bending once to the right and once to the left.  \n  \nSilk embroidery of the AH 11th / AD 17th century was a cheaper option for those who wanted to enjoy sumptuous textiles, given that woven-silk fabrics were much more expensive. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between embroideries made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade. The pattern on this embroidery indicates that it was most probably made professionally in a workshop, because the pattern relates strongly to similar designs found on AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century velvets.","short_description":"This boldly embroidered linen textile with coloured silk threads may have been used as a cover for a divan, a quilt facing, or a hanging such as a curtain for a doorway. Lavishly embroidered pieces that are influenced by velvets, like this one, were relatively more affordable than woven-silk fabrics.","type":"Ottoman textile","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 211 cm, width 130 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on 10th- and 11th- / 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman velvets.","method_for_provenance":"The pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on Turkish Ottoman velvets.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Commerce","domestic furnishing","floral decoration"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with coloured silk threads."]},"550798b2-2ff6-5c87-b3f5-df183a1a2b89":{"name":"Bridal cushions","description":"Bridal cushions from Ma’an, Jordan, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, are among the most distinctive examples of Jordanian domestic textiles. Their fabrics and techniques reflect connections with textile traditions from the Caucasus, Syria, Turkey, and Central Asia, shaped through centuries of travel, trade, pilgrimage, and cultural exchange. These influences reached Ma’an through its position as an important crossroads on regional routes, particularly as a key stop along the Hejaz Railway, built during the Ottoman period to facilitate travel between Damascus and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The background image is from the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress, showing the Hejaz Railway, which connected communities across the Ottoman Empire and facilitated movement for travellers, pilgrims, and merchants between the Levant and the Hijaz.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64-70 cm; width: 35-40 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["ceremony","Furniture","marriage","textile","wedding"],"materials":["Cotton, silk"]},"55bb16e8-b3ef-5f94-b1f1-f81a6e6d3cb7":{"name":"Textile fragment with *cintamani* motifs","short_description":"The silk fragment with red ground is patterned with horizontally aligned, offset waved lines. Growing out of these is a stylised bunch of flowers, its centre formed by a pink. The waved lines together form three circles arranged into a triangle, the Ottoman *cintamani* motif, which on this silk fragment is additionally flanked by two cloud bands.","type":"Ottaman textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"16th -17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 44cm, W: 68.5cm","provenance":"Ottoman Empire, Istanbul or Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-93010","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["chintamani","floral decoration","Foral motifs","geometric patterns","Ottoman costume","Ottoman textile"],"materials":["Satin broché","Silk, gilt lamella"]},"568aa288-3d05-5bf2-9461-11f5d3c78666":{"name":"*Portrait of Charles of Bourbon*","description":"The Portrait of Charles of Bourbon (Charles III of Spain), one of a pair together with a portrait depicting Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, now lost, is one of the first creations of the Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples.  \nFounded by the young King in 1737, soon after his arrival in Naples, the tapestry factory, together with a factory for the carving of semiprecious stones, was one of the first established by order of Charles of Bourbon. This decision must have been influenced by the young Charles’ interest in the Medici factories that were still operating in Florence. This interest developed when the future King stayed in the city in 1732, as the future successor to Gian Gastone de’ Medici.  \nIn fact, a small group of Florentine weavers and carvers of precious stones was responsible for giving life to the first two royal Bourbon factories in Naples, located near the church of San Carlo alle Mortelle. The factory, which was also composed of a local workforce, with the aim of promoting the development of new artistic techniques in the Kingdom of Naples, was under the direction of the Florentine Domenico del Rosso. And it was to the Florentine weaver that Charles entrusted his portrait and that of his consort; as with other items produced during the initial phase of the factories, these works were intended to celebrate the King and their patron. Production of the tapestry was completed in 1741, as indicated by the presence of the signature and date on the bottom right-hand edge of the tapestry: “DOM.CO D. L. ROSSO 1741”. The artist who provided the preparatory study for the tapestry is unknown; however, there is speculation that it may have been Giovan Battista delle Piane, who was a court portrait painter during these years; or Francesco Solimena, based on the tapestry’s extraordinary expressiveness and the intensity of the light and the colours in its original state.","type":"Bourbon manufacturing","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1739–1741","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 237cm, W: 174cm","method_for_datation":"Signed and dated: “DOM.CO D. L. ROSSO 1741”","method_for_provenance":"Inventories","provenance":"Naples","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"Giusti, Paola, *1737‒1759: Le Manifatture Reali al tempo di Carlo di Borbone*, in *Carlo di Borbone. Un sovrano illuminato per Napoli*, Naples: arte’m, 2016: 39.  \nMartino, Linda, *Museo di Capodimonte*, Milan: Touring Club Italiano, 2002: 221 (illustrated).  \nSiniscalco, Margherita, *Civiltà del '700 a Napoli. 1734‒1799*, vol. 2, Florence: Centro Di, Firenze, 1980: 97 (illustrated).  \nSpinosa, Nicola, *L’Arazzeria napoletana*, Naples: Libreria Scientifica Editrice, 1971.","workshop":"Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples (1737–1806)","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Charles III of Spain","Charles of Bourbon","Domenico Rosso","Don Carlos","Florentine weavers","Francesco Solimena","Giovan Battista delle Piane","Neapolitan Church of San Carlo delle Mortelle","Portrait","Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples","Tapestry"],"materials":["Wool and silk"]},"58571b94-fb2a-50e6-8245-cbdd1f785d50":{"name":"Floor Spread (*sofra*) with Design of Tulips and Pomegranates","short_description":"A circular floor spread (*sofra*) with design of tulips and pomegranates. Around the outer edge is a narrow border of floral motifs. Within this comes a wide ring containing large tulips and artichoke or pomegranate motifs which have tulips within them set alternately. In the center is a double circle containing floral motifs like those in the border. The textile is mounted on a red velvet background. The design features red, blue, green, white, and yellow embroidered elements on a natural plain cloth background. There are slight repairs and many stains. The textile is pieced down the middle.","type":"Textiles and Clothing","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira 11th century to early 12th century / AD 17th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Diameter: 106.7cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"This circular shaped *sofra* is filled with tulip motifs characteristic of Ottoman embroidery. Tulips were originally a wild flower growing in Central Asia, and by the late seventeenth century Ottoman artists had perfected representations of the tulip form.","provenance":"Istanbul, Turkey, Asia","obtention":"Gift of Mrs. Frank H. Cook, 1952","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Krody, Sumru Belger, *The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art*, Washington D.C.: The Textile Museum, 2012.","dynasty":"Ottoman period, 1281–1924","keywords":["Asia","embroidery","Floor","Istanbul","linen","Ottoman","silk","Sofra","Spread","textile","Turkey"],"materials":["Linen with silk embroidery"]},"58b6fce0-a922-5b62-a0f4-e670ee6e41c9":{"name":"Banner","short_description":"The earliest of the complete Ottoman banners in the Khalili Collection, the central motif on this banner is the sword Dhu’l-Faqar, represented with the dragon quillons usually seen in its depiction on Ottoman banners. The inscription on the bifurcated blade is *sura* *al-Nisa’* (IV), verses 95 (end) and 96. This is surrounded by calligraphic medallions enclosing the names of God, Muhammad and the four Orthodox Caliphs, each with the appropriate invocation, and *sura* *Hud* (XI), part of verse 88.  \n  \nThe banner can be dated to the 17th century on the basis of its close resemblance in iconography and technique to a number of securely dated military trophies in European collections. Many copies of early banners, made in Istanbul in the early 19th century, can easily be identified by the incorporation in their design of a small calligraphic flag, thought to represent the Prophet’s own standard.","type":"Textile; banner; silk; brocade; metal thread","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"AD 17th century","location":"London","dimensions":"252 x 197cm","method_for_datation":"Dating based on iconographic and technical similarities with a number of securely dated banners.","provenance":"Turkey, probably Istanbul","obtention":"Christie’s, London, sale of 27 April 2004, lot 54.","bibliography":"Denny, W., in *Textiles, Carpets and Costumes*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume 14, Part One. \\[In preparation / forthcoming\\]  \nRogers, J.M., *The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection*, London: Thames & Hudson, 2010: 328–9.","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["banner","brocade","calligraphy","inscription","metal thread","Ottoman textile","silk","textile","Turkey"],"materials":["Brocaded silk tabby (or plain weave) with metal thread"]},"58fd0ec7-5172-5bbf-bac4-88e40da41359":{"name":"Alpujarra Rug or Bedcover","description":"The Alpujarra rugs (or bedcovers) with pile in loops were produced in the Alpujarra region south of Granada between the 15th-16th and the 19th centuries. Alpujarra rugs or covers are classified as European folk art and were influenced by Eastern rugs.  \nThe cover was woven in three parts on a narrow beam loom, then stitched together. The weaver used only three colours of mercerized cotton (ivory, abrashed saffron yellow and light green) and metal thread. The yellow ground field is adorned with a diagonal lattice with green and ivory rosettes in the rhombuses. A two-headed eagle with a crown is in the centre. On the lower edge of the field in the inscription “DOÑA ROSALIA BTAVO” (BRAVO?). The border is green and has a crowned lion in each of the four corners. Between the lions is an alternating pattern of rosettes and pairs of doves atop bowls. The outer border contains stylised lilies alternating with star rosettes.  \nAlfréd Hoffman, owner of *Eggenberger*, one of the oldest book companies in Pest (founded in 1768), donated the bedcover in 1894 to the Museum of Applied Arts in accordance with the will of friend, János Kovachich-Molnár (1838-1894), who had been his business partner since 1863.","type":"Bedcover","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Late 18th century (?)","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 237cm, Width: 159cm, Knot density: 1,610/dm2","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and technical analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Alpujarra, Province of Granada, Spain","obtention":"Donated by Alfréd Hoffmann, from the bequest of János Kovachich-Molnár, 1894","bibliography":"Batári, Ferenc, *Csomózott indiai, kelet turkesztáni, kínai, tibeti és európai szőnyegek: Kiállítás a Miskolci Galériában a Budapesti Iparművészeti Múzeum gyűjteményéből / Knotted Rugs from India, Eastern-Turkestan, China, Tibet and Europe: Exhibition in the Miskolc Gallery from the Collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts*, Miskolc: Miskolci Galéria, 1980: no. 19 and figure.  \nRadocsay, Dénes, and Farkas, Zsuzsanna (eds), *Az európai iparművészet remekei: Száz éves az Iparművészeti Múzeum*, Budapest: Iparművészeti Múzeum, 1972: no. 86 \\[Ferenc Batári\\].","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Alan Campbell","translator":"Lara Strong","keywords":["Alpujarra rug","European peasant rug","Mercerized cotton","Spanish rug: U-loop technique"],"materials":["Loops: Mercerized cotton, (copper?) filament wound in an \"S\" shape around a light green cotton core","U-loop technique.","Warp and weft: Mercerized cotton"]},"5c6bfb8e-5045-5559-8078-f4e37350944b":{"name":"Pillowcase","short_description":"Textiles and embroidery found a wide array of uses which reflect the imaginations of Turkish women. In these textiles, silk, golden and silver threads were used for embroidery. From the 18th and 19th century on – when Western influence started – almost every colour found use and by using different tones of the same colour, the illusion of light and depth was created. Instead of human and animal figures, floral design, fruits, or calligraphy, ship and architectural patterns became more popular. This piece was made in the Hereke Plant, founded in 1843. There is one big star and crescent in the middle while there are four smaller ones in the corners. The base is covered with plenty of stars and dots.","type":"Textile","holder":"Vehbi Koç Foundation Sadberk Hanim Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"Istanbul","dimensions":"55x116 cm","provenance":"Hereke","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["textile objects","applied arts","handcraft"],"materials":["Velvet"]},"5ca32455-94fe-56af-a57b-31d8cd317caf":{"name":"Flag possibly belonging to a group of miners with anarchist ideas, bearing the sign “Neither servants nor masters, nor a penny nor a soldier”","short_description":"Flag possibly belonging to a group of miners with anarchist leanings (anarchists used black flags, and the working tools represented on the flag were used by miners), bearing on one side the sign: “neither servants nor masters”, and on the other side, the sign “Nor a penny nor a soldier” (it was implied “for the war”) and the image of broken weapons.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"1907","location":"Rome","dimensions":"104 x 137 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"5d84c4b0-6f1a-5b1c-87d0-3d8a61317a0a":{"name":"Flag of the Female Workers Friendly Society (Società di mutuo soccorso femminile) of Cremona, bearing the motto “All for one and one for all”","short_description":"During the second half of the 19th century, “friendly societies” flourished in Italy (especially in Central and Northern Italy). They predated trade unionism and were an important element of Italian social life.  \nThe Female Friendly Society (Società di mutuo soccorso femminile) of Cremona was created in 1863. It mostly comprised factory workers such as spinners and other workers in textile industry, but also included craftswomen like self-employed dressmakers, and even a few teachers.","type":"Flag","holder":"State Archives of Cremona","dates":"Unknown (probably end of the 19th–beginning of the 20th century)","location":"Cremona","dimensions":"163 x 171 cm","author":"Angela Bellardi","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","materials":["Embroidered silk"]},"5e3bd511-e913-550c-a38c-80f8d87cf0e9":{"name":"*Capture of Francis I, King of France*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nThe central episode represented in the tapestry is the capture of Francis I. After having passed through the copse, depicted high up on the left, and after having fought bravely on the muddy terrain, unfavourable to the heavy French cavalry, the King is captured following a shot from an arquebus that wounds his horse.  \nFrancis I is depicted in the foreground while three cavaliers from the enemy formation, La Motte de Noyers, the German Nicolas von Salm and the Count of Montmartin – as indicated by the abbreviated text that tends to be included on the horses’ tack and armour – help him to get to his feet. On the left is depicted the Viceroy of Naples, Charles de Lannoy, identified by the letters “VISSEROV” on the blade of his sword, while he dismounts from his horse to accept the surrender of the King.  \nBehind him a horseman raises the imperial standard, on which one can distinguish the double-headed eagle and Hercules’ pillars with the motto “PLUS OVLTRE”. In the centre of the tapestry, the man on a horse, who is wearing a dark outfit, on which stands out the white cross that indicates that he is on the side of the French, is Henry II, King of Navarre, captured in battle; in the distance, on the right, among the horsemen who have just come out of the copse, appears Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, identified by the word “BOURBON” on the reins, as well as by the presence of French *fleurs-de-lis* on the horse’s peytral.  \nIn the foreground, on the ground, there is the arquebus with which Francis I’s horse was hit. This is also a symbol of the new way of fighting in battle and the end of the cavalry: the use of firearms, striking from a distance, allowed the less courageous to prevail.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 435cm, W: 789cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nJackson, Zofia, “Battaglia di Pavia con la cattura del re di Francia”, in Beltramini, G., and Tura, A. (edited by), *Orlando Furioso. 500 anni. Cosa vedeva Ariosto quando chiudeva gli occhi*, exhibition catalogue (Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 24 September 2016 – 8 January 2017), Ferrara, 2016, pp. 200-201.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"5e6943fd-7101-58f0-8df8-80cc6f82f37e":{"name":"*Advance of the imperial troops and attack of the French gendarmerie led by Francis I*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries of the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections with the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nThrough the decorative cycle of tapestries, the intention was to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, commanded by Francis I, which took place on 24 February 1525, and was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia. Recently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels and to adorn a large room in the Royal Palace to mark the occasion of the Assembly of the Estates-General of Brussels in March 1531, the cycle arrived in Spain in the 1550s with Mary of Hungary, who later gave it to her young nephew Don Carlos. It is Don Carlos who links the history of the tapestries to the d’Avalos family, bequeathing them to Francesco Ferdinando d’Avalos (Buchanan 2002), Marquis of Pescara, and direct descendant of Fernando Francesco d’Avalos, the hero of Pavia depicted in the tapestry *Defeat of the French cavalry* and identified thanks to the writing on the neck of his horse.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris), a renowned painter, and designer of tapestries and stained-glass windows. The preparatory cartoons for the weaver were derived from these designs, or *modelletti*, with scenes reversed, given that, at the time in Brussels, tapestries were woven on “low-warp” looms. The presence of the weaver’s mark on the border of two of the tapestries provides a reference point for when the series was produced, because a decree of 1528 required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and this has allowed the workshop in which they were made to be identified as that of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen).  \nThe initial stages of the battle are represented in the tapestry. In the background, the infantry and cavalry of the imperial army are advancing, led by Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (recognisable from the writing on his horse’s peytral), ready to attack the French troops. On the right, in the middle distance, King Francis I is depicted in the act of killing the Marquis of Civita Santangelo, commander of the enemy troops, an event that marks one of the first French successes. In the extreme foreground, on the right, several imperial arquebusiers can be seen preparing their weapons: across their shoulders, they wear a strap from which hang pouches containing gunpowder charges that have already been measured out; at their waists they have horn-shaped powder magazines. The legs of the arquebusier seen from behind, which are cut off at the knee, were originally hidden by a section of the wall of Visconti Park, as is also shown by the preparatory drawing for the tapestry, now in the Louvre. This section of wall could have been removed together with the border of the tapestry, no earlier than the second half of the 18th century. In fact, according to a description from the 1770s, the lower border, still intact, displayed decorative motifs with tritons and sea horses, similar to those that appear in the *Hunts of Maximilian*, another series of tapestries produced for Charles V from designs by van Orley, and today in the Louvre (Buchanan 2002).  \nIn the foreground, the King is depicted again, with his sallet visor lowered, as he heads with his elite guard towards a copse, where a fatal trap will be set for him.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 415cm, W: 818cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","method_for_provenance":"Weaver's mark","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"5e9b4b02-68df-5a5e-b287-ce07332661a1":{"name":"Block printed cotton hanging","short_description":"Typical products of the Qajar dynastic period, the Persian term *qalamkar* (literally, “pen-work“) refers to printed or/and painted cotton fabrics decorated with animals, depictions of Persian heroic fables, floral and tendril patterns or cypresses growing out of vases. Depending on the motif, *qalamkars* were employed as fabric for clothing, wall hangings or table cloths. The most famous member of this dynasty, Naser ad-Din Shah, visited the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873.","type":"Textile","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Second half of the 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 176cm, W: 116cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"At the turn of the 19th century, parts of the inventory of collections of the Austrian Museum of Trade (established 1874) gradually found their way to the ethnographic department of the Imperial and Royal Court Museum of Natural History (later, Museum of Ethnology, today Weltmuseum Wien). In 1925 the Austrian Museum of Trade was dissolved.","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"Der Phantastische Wald. Lebensbäume. Weltenbaum und Weltenberg,\" in Gerard van Bussel and Axel Steinmann (eds), *Wald / Baum / Mensch, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Museum für Völkerkunde, 2011: 109-110.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton"]},"618bc97a-0543-5e59-aeff-839fc23ec12e":{"name":"*Sitara* for the *rawda* of the Prophet’s mosque in Medina","short_description":"That this curtain was intended for the *rawda* is suggested by the text in the large medallion at the top. It consists of a *hadith* of the Prophet, *ma bayna qabri wa minbari rawda min riyad al-janna* (‘Between my tomb and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise’). The same text appears above the *mihrab* in the *rawda*.  \nSultan Mahmud II is known to have practised the art of calligraphy and a number of *sitara*s commissioned by him for the Prophet’s mosque bear his pear-shaped signature cartouche which reads, *katabahu al-‘abd Mahmud bin ‘Abdulhamid khan* (‘written by the servant \\[of God\\] Mahmud, the son of ‘Abdulhamid Khan’).","type":"Textile; *rawda* curtain; *sitara*; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"1808–39  \n  \nwith the signature cartouche of Sultan Mahmud II","location":"London","dimensions":"280 x 163cm","method_for_datation":"The date is based on the presence of the *tughra* and signature cartouche of Sultan Mahmud II.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul; commissioned by Sultan Mahmud II and with his signature cartouche","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., “The Textiles Made for the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina: A Preliminary Study of their Origins, History and Style”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 184–94.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","Curtain","Dedicatory inscription","embroidery","Hadith","hajj","Hijaz","Mecca","Medina","mihrab","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Prophet’s mosque","Rawdah","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile"],"materials":["Red silk, heavily relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"61fdfc64-9d3d-5440-a2af-70636e65734d":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"The size and non-repetitive pattern of this monumental depiction of a woman standing in a lobed arch make it unique. It was first and foremost weavers from Safavid Iran who were known for making these technically unparalleled textiles, but we know from the biography of the Great Mughal Akbar that in around 1600, the Indians had come equally far in technical skill.","type":"Velvet, silk","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira c. 1010 / AD c. 1600","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"India or Iran","dynasty":"Mughal or Safavid","keywords":["animal decoration","bird","figural decoration","floral decoration","human representation","India","Iran","silk","textile","Velvet","women"],"materials":["Silk and silver lamella spun around silk"]},"6392fda5-b738-5dec-9a45-71733b02404b":{"name":"Tent panel","short_description":"This appliqué is one of a set of six featuring designs that echo the bold geometry of Egypt’s period of Mamluk rule (1250–1517). The format of calligraphy above a central roundel with trefoils is similar to other works of art created during the Mamluk Revival period. This particular textile features the following verse from the Qur’an: “That man can have nothing but what he strives for...” (53:39). Appliqués of this type were often used to embellish tents.","type":"Islamic, Indian & Southeast Asian works of art; textile","holder":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Honolulu, Hawai'i","dimensions":"Overall: 289.6 x 148.6 cm","provenance":"Egypt (Cairo)","dynasty":"Mamluk Revival","keywords":["applique","cotton","Egypt","geometric motifs","inscription","Mamluk Revival","Neo Mamluk","Neo-Mamluk","revivalism","tent panel","textile"],"materials":["Cotton (applique technique)"]},"64ac8dbf-8dd2-5b1c-a223-2129d475ce2e":{"name":"Case for the crown of Stefan Bocskai","short_description":"This decagonal domed case is made of wood and covered with fabric. The clasp at the front and the hinges at the back are silver-gilt. The fabric of the cover is costly Persian silk and is decorated with a figural scene surrounded by flowers. Half sitting, half reclining, a lady is reading a book. Beside her kneels a servant with a wide, sweeping *turban*, offering her a bowl with his right hand and holding a bottle in his left. Between the two figures lies a bowl containing fruit. In the lady's open book can be read the signature of the artist Mu'min, in Arabic script. On the inside of the case, the fabric retains all the freshness of its original colours, and is typical of the refined taste of the court of Shah 'Abbas the Great (AD 1587–1628) at Isfahan. Technically, it can be described as a double-woven lampas of coloured silk. Glued to the floor of the case is an Italian fabric from the early 17th century. Its ground is warp satin in red silk; the pattern, which takes the form of pinnate leaves and blossoms, is yellow silk woven in twill and intervowen with silver.","type":"Textile; case","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 1014 / AD c. 1605","location":"Vienna","provenance":"Iran? Turkey?","dynasty":"Ottoman; fabric: Safavid","keywords":["court life","figurative decoration","floral decoration","Italian textiles","lampas","Mu´min","Safawid","satin","Shah `Abbas the Great","textile","women","woodwork"],"materials":["Textile, wood, silk, silver, gilt"]},"665aed9d-195b-51b5-8961-06a52dfd6aab":{"name":"Piece of the *kiswa* (cover) of the Ka’ba.","description":"A piece of the Ka'ba *kiswa* (cover) which was probably produced in Syria, and was sent as part of the *Shami mahmal* (the Syrian Caravan carrying gifts for the Ka'ba) to Mecca to re-adorn the Ka'ba. Such a ritual occurred every year before the season of the Hajj, and included a venerated ceremony at which the commencement of the Hajj season was officially announced. It was and still is the case that the Ka'ba is washed, perfumed and purified every year and is then covered with a new *kiswa*. The fragmentexhibited here is made from red silk and embroidered with silver silken thread. The design includes two undulating bands which assume the form of a continuous chain made up of number “7”s. Both bands run from the beginning to the end of the cloth. Small, dispersed decorative elements are scattered between the two borders, as well as between the two undulating bands. Written inscriptions appear, the most prominent being: “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his Prophet”, repeating in the middle of the *kiswa* between the two zigzag bands. The two expressions, “Ya Mannan” (“Oh Merciful”) and “Ya Hannan” (“Oh Compassionate”) are also repeated, and consist of flowery forms running along both edges. On the upper undulating band, there is a verse from the Qur'an, “al-Baqara” (“the Cow”, 2: 144). The lower undulating band holds another chapter from the Qur'an: Surat Al 'Imran “the Family of Imran” (3:96). At the top and the bottom of the piece there are two expressions: “Dhu al-Jalal” (“Possessor of Majesty”) and “Dhu al-Ikram” (“Possessor of Honour”). One can conceptualise the size of the complete *kiswa* by bringing to mind the enormous scale of the Ka'ba. It is likely that the forms and inscriptions on this piece were repeated on the *kiswa* in its entirety. The name of the donor, the date of production and the emporium where it was produced is not recorded; the evidence has probably been cut off.  \nIt is worth mentioning that once used to cover the Ka'ba, the *kiswa* was cut into small pieces and sent as gifts to different capitals and cities in the Islamic world to bestow blessing on them. Ruling palaces and councils contained pieces of the *kiswa,* which were used to confer legality and sanctity.","short_description":"Every year the Ka’ba is washed and covered with a *kiswa* (cover) marking the beginning of the Hajj season. This piece is of red silk and embroidered with silver silk forming fragmented zigzags that repeat from the beginning of the piece to its end. Small forms are scattered in different places within inscription bands.","type":"Silk embroidery, silk thread, costume","holder":"Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif.","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Jerusalem","dimensions":"Length 142 cm, width 68 cm.","method_for_datation":"This fragment was dated based on comparison with similar pieces in the museums of Istanbul, whose dates had been narrowed down to around the 13th / 19th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is likely that this piece was made in Syria, since it is reminiscent of other pieces in the museums of Istanbul known to have been produced in the region.","provenance":"Probably Syria.","obtention":"Al-Sayyid Tahir Sayf al-Din, about whom nothing is known, donated the *kiswa* fragment to the Islamic Museum in 1937.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Nazmi Al-Ju'beh","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["cloth","embroidery","kiswa of the Ka’ba","silk","silk textile","textile"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silk thread."]},"6748859a-edf1-57f0-b773-2f77f78d2cad":{"name":"Brocaded velvet","short_description":"This luxurious cloth is woven in red silk velvet with silver metallic threads. Although strikingly modern-looking in design, this motif is ancient. Known as *chintamani*, it derives from the Sanskrit word ‘precious jewel'. The triple spot motif has long represented the Buddhist eternal wish-granting jewel, but the 'spots and stripes' motif is also found in Persian paintings of ancient kings wearing the skins of tigers and leopards, associating this motif with power, kingship and royalty.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD mid 16th century","location":"Doha","dimensions":"Height: 83cm, Width: 63cm","provenance":"Turkey, Bursa","obtention":"Kuzmeli Collection until 1998; sold to Qatar Museums","bibliography":"Seipel, Joseph H., *God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty: The object in Islamic Art and Culture*, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.  \nThompson, Jon, *Silk. 13th to 18th centuries. Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar*, Doha: National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, 2004.  \nWatson, Oliver, *Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar*, Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2008.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Tara Desjardins","keywords":["chintamani","cintamani","Ottoman","textile","Turkey"],"materials":["Silk, Metal Thread, Brocade velvet","weaving"]},"6752ea88-0922-5aae-a9a3-d9e93a4c8c57":{"name":"Embroidery","short_description":"This rich embroidery in the Mudéjar style showed the importance of these goods in the Italian and Spanish Renaissance. The influence of the Arab art in the Renaissance has been overlooked many times, but the Mediterranean ceramics and textiles of this period were influenced, in technique and decoration, by this art.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Mudejar style (13th–14th century); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"22,4 x 28,6 cm","provenance":"Spain","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art","islamic influence","orientalism","collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; embroidery"]},"69333e0f-47a7-51b4-ada7-d43aa30c07fe":{"name":"Flag of the peasants’ league of a small village in Tuscany, central Italy","short_description":"Peasants’ leagues (Lega Contadina) were the first form of agricultural workers’ organisations. They flourished in Italy at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century.  \nRavi and Caldana are villages in the municipality of Gavorrano (a mine district in the province of Grosseto, Tuscany).  \nIn 1911, when the national trade union Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (CGdL) proclaimed a strike against Italy’s colonial war in Libya, the miners of the Gavorrano district participated in the strike.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"Unknown (probably c. 1920)","location":"Rome","dimensions":"122 x 142 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"6936e4f0-8dda-5065-9aac-81da03ff336e":{"name":"Textile with tulips","short_description":"The large, stylized tulips make this textile a fine example of the highly original and magnificent patterns that were designed in the Ottoman court studios.  \nSo much gold and silver thread was used for certain textiles that the sultans prohibited their production for periods, since they drained the reserves of precious metals.","type":"Ottoman textile fragment, Lampas, silver lamella","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira 2nd half of the 10th century  / AD 2nd half of the 16th century","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["floral motifs","Ottoman textile","tulip","workshop"],"materials":["Lampas-woven, silk and silver lamella"]},"6b0278dc-5b28-55d6-9771-7558446e7713":{"name":"Silk 'Limar' Sarong","short_description":"Silk *limar* sarong predominantly purple & red. The central compartment is adorned floral chain patterns with a panel adorned with a motif of confronted bamboo shoots & flowers.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"108.5 x 105cm","provenance":"Possibly Terengganu, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 52-53.","dynasty":"Terengganu Sultanate"},"6bb34fe7-eaef-56c1-b556-3d1d89dfb069":{"name":"Marriage tent","short_description":"A complete early 20th century Egyptian tent adorned with colourful textile panels in interior part. *Khayamiyya* or Egyptian art of tent-making is created using a hand-applique technique in which fabric pieces are cut, folded and skillfully hand-sewn to canvas, producing impressive tents and wall hangings. These vibrant textiles are widely used in ceremonial contexts such as weddings, funerals, street parties and religious events. This tent was used for the wedding of a daughter of the last Khedive of Egypt in 1903. It can be erected with the decoration reversed should it be thought more appropriate.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"c. Hegira 1300 / c. AD 1900","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"427 x 701cm","provenance":"Egypt","bibliography":"*Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Volume 1, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2002: 222-223.  \nIslamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Beyond Boundaries-Tents of the Islamic World*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2003: 46-59.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Woven cotton"]},"6c834b03-f120-537f-ad07-f35c0f191253":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"The interior walls of the Shrine of the Prophet in the Madina were traditionally honoured with elaborate hangings. During the Ottoman period, it was customary for the Sultan to send hangings for the shrine  on the occasion of his ascension to the throne or when wear and tear demanded them to be replaced. The old  hangings were returned to Istanbul.Judging by their inscriptions, it has been suggested that  black-grounded Ottoman textiles like this one may have been commissioned specifically to cover the tomb of the Prophet (pbuh). In addition to qur'anic inscriptions, the calligraphic panels include a large green medallion with a hadith of the Prophet: ‘ (For) whosoever may visit my grave, my intercession will become an obligation’. Below, elaborate arabesque scrolling surrounds the emblem or tughra of the sultan Abd al-Hamid II (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD), who commissioned this hanging.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation /Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira mid 13th century / AD mid 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2560 mm x 1370 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["tughra","tugra","sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and gilt silver metal thread"]},"6cfb6464-d160-543b-9056-10619a938fd8":{"name":"Textile (possibly a cushion cover)","short_description":"Dating to the mid-10th/mid-16th century, this richly embellished textile gives a vivid sense of the multihued opulence of the court of the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman (Hegira 926–972 / AD 1520–65). Possibly a cushion cover for a throne or a sofa, the crimson satin fabric is embroidered with silk, gold and silver thread. The bold blossoms and spiky leaves that typify the Ottoman court style are arranged, along with a quartet of lively roosters, around a complex eight-lobed medallion. The quality of the design, the fine embroidery and the lavish use of silver and gold metallic thread demonstrate the unrivalled level of excellence of Ottoman imperial textiles.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira mid-10th century / AD mid-16th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"86.7 x 83.8cm","method_for_datation":"The materials, technique and decoration are consonant with other textiles produced for the Ottoman court, particularly during the latter part of Sultan Süleyman’s reign.","method_for_provenance":"The radiating star motif at center relates to Ottoman manuscript illumination while the flowers and serrated leaf designs are found among a variety of Ottoman decorative arts including textiles.","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Yanni Petsopoulos (1949 - ), until 1981 (sale, private sale, London, April 11, 1981, sold to); Edwin Binney, 3rd (1866-1934), Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, Portland, ME, until 1985 (gifted to); LACMA, The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.","bibliography":"Atil, Esin, *The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent*, Washington: National Gallery of Art, New York; H. Abrams, 1987.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Rev. ed., Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005: 48, fig. 45.  \nPal, Pratapaditya, Lentz, Thomas W., Canby, Sheila R., Binney, Edwin, 3rd, Denny, Walter B. and Markel, Stephen “Arts from Islamic Cultures: Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” *Arts of Asia*, 17 : 6 (1987): 111.  \nPesopoulos, Yanni (ed), *Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire*, New York: Abbeville Press, 1982: cat. 150.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["animal decoration","court life","embroidery","floral decoration","Ottoman textile","textile"],"materials":["Silk and metal foil-wrapped silk embroidered on compound satin ground"]},"6fa63cbf-0340-5e3e-8071-e07e6642fc87":{"name":"Bib for the camel of the Egyptian *mahmal*","short_description":"The camel destined to carry the Egyptian *mahmal* was specially chosen for its appearance as much as for its strength. It was looked after by a special employee in Dar al-Kiswa, and was caparisoned in richly embroidered textiles while being paraded through the streets of Cairo and major cities on its way to Mecca and back.  \n  \nThe Qur’anic inscription, *sura al-Nahl*, verse 7, is apposite. It reads, ‘And they carry your heavy loads to lands that you could not otherwise reach except with souls distressed. Truly, your Lord is full of Kindness, Most Merciful.’  \n  \nThe cotton lining bears a stamped trade mark of a firm in Manchester, England, consisting of an open hand bearing a name, possibly Abraham Harawi, in Arabic.","type":"Textile; bib; *mahmal* camel; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"AD 19th century","location":"London","dimensions":"53 x 100cm (maximum, excluding tassels)","method_for_datation":"Dated on stylistic grounds, and by comparison with photographic evidence.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["banner","camel","Ceremonial object","cotton","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mahmal","Mecca","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["cotton lining","Red silk, relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding","silk tassels","silver sequins"]},"70d2bc19-2c28-56d7-a583-2120b88a62ab":{"name":"Fragment","short_description":"This linen *tiraz* textile is enlivened with vibrantly coloured red, blue, and yellow animals and medallions. Unlike most *tiraz*, in which the primary decoration is an embroidered inscription, this textile depicts a hare and confronted peacocks. While the decorative motif refers to pre-Islamic Coptic and Sasanian textiles, the textile’s late date of the eleventh century reflects a trend toward classical revival in Fatimid artistic production. Two bands of *kufic* text repeat the word God in Arabic.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira late 4th–5th century / AD 11th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 24.8cm, W: 23.5cm;  Mount: L: 40.6cm, W: 38.9cm","provenance":"Fustat, Egypt","obtention":"Rogers Fund, 1927  \nVendor: Joseph Abemayor, Cairo  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Joseph Abemayor, Cairo, until 1927; sold to H.E. Winlock for MMA\\]","bibliography":"Walker, Daniel S. and Froom, Aimee, *Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops. Exhibition Notebook*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 15-16, no. 4.","dynasty":"Fatimid","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1927","keywords":["animal decoration","cloth","Clothing","Egypt","factory","Fatimid","Fatimid textiles","Fragment","funerary object","Fustat","inscription","kufic","linen","medallions","pseudo inscriptions","silk","textile","textile fragment","tiraz","tiraz fabric"],"materials":["Linen and silk"]},"72ae21b5-d599-5f2d-a160-0551b46ab9bb":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The greenish ground material of this embroidery is very sheer chiffon. Blossoming shrubs are spread over the entire surface of this fine fabric, executed in gradated shades of different-coloured silk. The outlines and stems are made of gold thread. Judging from the circle in the middle, this nearly square textile could originally have served as a turban cover. While the textile was in Riddarholm Church in Stockholm it was used as a baptismal font cover.","short_description":"Embroidery on a ground of very sheer, greenish chiffon. Blossoming shrubs are spread over the entire surface of the textile. The embroidery could originally have served as a turban cover. During the time it belonged to Riddarholm Church in Stockholm it was used as a cover for a baptismal font.","type":"Silk, gold thread, chiffon","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities.","owner":"Riddarholm Church, Stockholm, through donation of Emerentia von Düben in 1728.","initial_owner":"Emerentia von Düben, Maid of Honour to Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden.","dates":"Hegira early 12th century / AD early 18th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 115 cm, width 114 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established according to the technique by A. Geijer (see Bibliogrqphy).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Riddarholm Church, Stockholm.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, 182–3.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, 83–5, cat. no. 143, plate 74 (black and white), plate XVII (colour).  \n*Islam, Konst och Kultur. Islam, Art and Culture*, Exhibition catalogue, Stockholm, 1985, cat. no. 31.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["embroidery","floral decoration","Textiles"],"materials":["chiffon, embroidery.","Silk, gold thread"]},"7394659c-7bbb-55dd-b364-8018961596d1":{"name":"Hand-towel (*Peşkir*)","description":"Embroidered textile on beige ground. The short edges are decorated with floral motifs in blue, pink, red, yellow and green threads. At the centre, three blue pots each contain a bouquet of three flowers.","type":"Fabric","holder":"İznik Museum Directorate","dates":"AH 13th / AD 19th century","location":"Bursa","dimensions":"Height: 103cm, width: 38cm","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["cotton","hand-towel","Ottomans","textile, embroidery","water"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"74752ee1-50a2-52d2-8b58-9bfb2e4bbf50":{"name":"Cushion cover","short_description":"Cushions like these formed part of the resplendent furnishings of palaces and tents. The centre of the rectangular cushion cover shows a medallion flanked by *saz* leaves and pinks placed in a rectangle, around which tulips are also depicted besides the *saz* leaves and pinks. The two shorter ends of the cushion cover are finished off with crenelated borders showing basket tulips in their interior pattern. In order to cope with the great demand for draperies, wall hangings and cushion covers for the interior furnishings of lordly Ottoman interiors, such cushion covers were woven on a production-line basis.","type":"Ottoman home textile, silk, velvet, gold","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Late 17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 100cm, W: 173cm","provenance":"Ottoman Empire, Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-95634","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["floral motifs","Ottoman interior decoration","Ottoman textile","Saz style","tulip"],"materials":["Silk, gold lamella","Velvet, broché, embroidered"]},"757957ce-46d4-5799-8792-5f05be3e1e3f":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"This green and black silk textile is richly embroidered with silver and gilt metal threads. The centre displays six cartouches with thuluth inscriptions, followed below by a black niche with a central lamp motif. A border with trefoil scrolling surrounds the central panel. The inscriptions used on this textile clearly indicate that this textile was intended for the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina. The four main cartouches contain verse 56 from chapter 33 (Al-Ahzab) of the Holy Qur’an: ‘Allah sends His Salat (merciful blessings) on the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and also His angels. O you who believe! Send your Salat on him and greet him with the Islamic way of greeting’. The inscriptions in the two cartouches below state that this curtain was ordered by the Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD) and renewed by Efendi Abbas Hilmi, the last Khedive Pasha of Ottoman Egypt (1291 H/ 1874 AD – 1350 H/ 1931 AD) in 1321 H/ 1903 AD.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation /Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira 1321 / AD 1903","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2260 x 1150 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["thuluth","Khedive","sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and silver gilt metal thread"]},"7b315354-8d00-5a9b-9462-8f8f378759d3":{"name":"Rustam Slaying the White Div","short_description":"The overall layout of this hanging is reminiscent of courtly manuscript illustrations with its figure-rich inner field and the border on which birds and game cavort in lush vegetation. The somewhat naïve style of the figures suggests that this embroidery in chain stitch technique must have been made at the beginning of the 20th century.  \n  \nThe central field depicts scenes from the life of Rustam, the most popular hero from Ferdausi’s national epic *Shahnama*, the Book of Kings. The scene in the lower third is the easiest to recognise. It shows Rustam slaying the White Div, the ruler of Mazandaran. Above this we probably see Rustam’s fight with Suhrab, one of the most tragic moments in the *Shahnama*. During the duel, Rustam slays the young man, who shows him a talisman as he dies and it is at that moment that Rustam realises that he has just killed his very own son. Meanwhile, the top scene shows an unspecified battle scene.  \n  \nWall hangings fulfilled many functions in Persian houses, be it as decoration for niches or as curtains. In this case, it is even conceivable that the hanging was used in one of the many coffee and tea houses, serving as a backdrop for professional storytellers to illustrate their stories.","type":"Hanging","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Fritz Hermann","dates":"Hegira early 14th century / AD late 19th-early 20th century","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 221cm, Width: 149cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with similar dated works and due to visual characteristics of some of the colours.","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Gift of Fritz Hermann","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschof, Marie-Louise and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen: Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: 90-91.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Cotton, mercerised cotton thread and embroidery (chainstitch)"]},"7c7a8c7a-41b6-5201-9026-cc3578b10664":{"name":"Curtain Panel with Design of Horizontal Bands of Geometric Patterns and Arabic Inscriptions in *Kufic* Script","short_description":"A long rectangular brocaded silk panel displaying twenty-one bands of varying widths with patterns in yellow, blue or green, black, and white on a red ground. Two bands are exceptionally wide. One of these wide bands is filled with a yellow geometric arabesque that encloses six elaborate eight-pointed stars. The other displays a smaller, more tightly spaced version of the star motif. Two nearly-identical sections of nine narrow bands alternate with these wide bands. In the center of each nine-band section is a band with five yellow stars surrounded by interlacing lines of blue or green forming an Arabic inscription in *kufic* script, which reads in translation as \"success and happiness.\" On either side of this wide band is a series of three narrow bands with alternating red and yellow arabesques on either side of a central band. It has a running white arabesque around cartouches (ovoid frames) with another Arabic inscription in *kufic* script, which reads in translation as \"good luck and prosperity,\" that alternate with rosettes in red or red and green. This series of seven smaller bands is framed by thin bands of alternating serrated triangles; the triangles point up and down in different colors, either red on green or white on green. The bottom of the panel has a contrasting checkerboard motif in yellow, white, black and red, and ends in a band of red tassels.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira 8th century / AD 14th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 103.2cm x Width: 37.1cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Spain, Europe","obtention":"Museum Purchase, 1939","bibliography":"Al Khemir, Sabiha, *Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture*, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 2012.","dynasty":"Mudejar","keywords":["brocade","Europe","panel","silk","Spain","Spanish","textile"],"materials":["Brocaded silk"]},"7de42026-ed99-5288-a199-da1cae44d5fc":{"name":"Caparison for a horse given by the Sultan of Morocco to the King of Italy, on the occasion of a visit to Italy of a Moroccan Ambassador in 1890","short_description":"In 1890, the Sultan of Morocco sent Hagi El Maati el Mazamizi as an Ambassador to Italy. The Ambassador landed in Naples on June 7th and arrived by train in Rome on June 13th. At the railway station, he was received by the Mayor of Rome, the Prefect, and other authorities. A military band was playing and military men in high uniform were paraded in the station to greet the Ambassador.  \nOutside the station, three of the King’s gala carriages were waiting for the Ambassador and a military unit was paraded in his honour. Some carabinieri in high uniform escorted the Ambassador to the hotel.  \nHagi El Maati el Mazamizi presented the King with gifts, including some superb horses that the King immensely appreciated. The King presented the Ambassador with a magnificent small gold and diamonds small box and a hunting rifle and gave gold watches to the members of his escort.","type":"Caparison for a horse","holder":"National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Rome","author":"Vito Lattanzi, Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","materials":["Silk; gold embroidery"]},"7f2fed78-da3c-5a60-9d84-6fa3d3fadd64":{"name":"*Kain panjang* (Shoulder or hip cloth)","short_description":"Ceremonial shoulder or hip cloth, predominantly maroon, featuring *pucuk rebung lawi ayam* (bamboo shoot with cockerel's tail) and *bunga rumput* (grass flower) motif.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"224 x 89.7cm","provenance":"East Coast, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 60-61.","dynasty":"Malay Sultanate","materials":["Silk limar with songket"]},"802c443d-9ccb-5e7b-b692-21b1695a778f":{"name":"Traditional suitcase","short_description":"Bags such as these were used by young brides, particularly in the 19th century, in order to transport their belongings to the marital home. As per tradition, the bag is made of black fabric and embroidered with the words *ma sha Allah* in Arabic calligraphy, meaning \"as God wills\". The words are embroidered in golden silk thread and surrounded by floral patterns.","type":"Textile; needlework","holder":"Lebanese Heritage Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"`Ayn Najm","provenance":"Turkey","author":"Marie Therese Moujabber","copy_editor":"Flaminia Baldwin","keywords":["Floral decoration","Embroidery","Silk","Needlework"],"materials":["Embroidery; silk"]},"80da057a-50e4-5b41-a93e-f12cf060df80":{"name":"*Invasion of the French camp and the taking of the Castle of Mirabello. Flight of the ladies and civilians following Francis I*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here precedes *Flight of the imperial troops from Pavia*, where the Lombard city is portrayed. In fact, juxtaposing the two tapestries, the landscape bordered in the foreground by the walls of Visconti Park can be re-created; furthermore, both in the foreground and in the distance, the defensive system that marks the edge of the French encampment, composed of a series of gabions, field fortifications comprising large baskets of entwined branches filled with earth, can be linked together.  \nAccording to the chronology of events, the tapestry represents one of the early moments of the final phase of the battle: at dawn on 24 February, the imperial troops burst into the French encampment. The French had pitched camp within the Old Park, occupying the Mirabello Castle, a fortified hunting lodge, depicted in the background on the left. In the centre, several infantrymen are trying to save themselves by crossing the Vernavola river, using their pikes. Beyond the flames, which are caused by the explosion of casks of gunpowder, one can glimpse Francis I’s tent, decorated with the French *fleurs-de-lis*. In the foreground, through a breach in the wall, one can see the flight of soldiers and civilians who were with the French army that was camped there, among them ornately dressed women. In the distance, on the right, one can see tranquil scenes of camp life, with people busy preparing food and overseeing meals.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 440cm, W: 818cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “Invasion of the French Camp end the Flight of the Women and Civilians”, in Campbell, Thomas P. (edited by), *Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence*, exhibition catalogue, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002, pp. 321-328.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"821764f8-832c-5dab-a096-4cb7b82143b8":{"name":"Textile fragment from the shrine of San Librada, Sigüenza Cathedral","short_description":"This textile fragment displays a pattern of roundels bearing addorsed griffins with gazelles below their forelegs, within a border of pairs of fantastic animals. The interstitial motif consists of an eight-pointed star enclosing a rosette and surrounded by pairs of confronted quadrupeds. The pattern, popular in both Muslim and Byzantine worlds, recalls earlier silks of the eastern Mediterranean and, ultimately, of Central Asia. Silks of this type have been found in reliquaries of churches in Spain; they may be the \"patterns with circles\" of Almeria referred to in historical documents. These Islamic textiles were most likely brought to Sigüenza by Alfonso VII, in 1147 on the occasion of the victory over the Almoravids and the capture of Almeria.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira late 5th–first half 6th century / AD first half 12th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 43.2cm, W: 30.5cm; Mount: H: 52.4cm, W: 42.2cm, D: 3.2cm","provenance":"Spain","obtention":"Funds from various donors, 1958  \nVendor: Paul O. Berliz, New York  \nFormer owner: Paul O. Berliz, New York (until 1958; sold to MMA)","bibliography":"Clark, Kenneth, *Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries: the Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1970: 160, no. 130, ill. (b/w).","dynasty":"Taifa kingdoms","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Funds from various donors, 1958","keywords":["Almohad","Byzantine influences","Fragment","gazelle","griffon","Lampas weave","religious object","silk","Spain","Taifa","texile"],"materials":["Lampas","Silk, metal wrapped thread"]},"82a76cf7-12e6-5f7e-accc-28e18a32a4e9":{"name":"Wall hanging.","description":"A wall hanging for a domestic interior comprising three widths of coarse, brownish linen sewn together and embroidered in blue, red, yellow and green coloured silks using darning stitch. The overall composition is of staggered abstracted carnations that alternate with paired tulips; these rise from a split stem with serrated leaves issuing from either side. A turquoise-blue scalloped border surrounds the central composition.","short_description":"Ottoman embroideries like this one are dated to the late AH 11th / AD 17th century. Professional embroideries of the highest quality were the prerogative of the Ottoman court, while throughout the empire ladies strove to echo fashionable court designs in their domestic embroidery work.","type":"Ottoman textile, linen, silk embroidery","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 182.8 cm, width 137.2 cm.","method_for_datation":"This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.","method_for_provenance":"This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Bequest of Mrs Charlotte M. Cameron in 1947.","bibliography":"Scarce, J., *Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior*, Edinburgh, 1996, p.100 (where item is illustrated).","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["carnations","embroidery","floral decoration","textile","tulip","vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Linen and silk embroidery."]},"82ea9712-5e3e-5143-b91a-4afc4229d69e":{"name":"Towel border","short_description":"Ottoman embroidery was used to decorate a wide range of clothing and household items such as towels, waistbands, turban covers. Its repertoire is closely reminiscent of the motifs used in the decoration of carpets and ceramics, and betrays, once more, the Ottoman artists’ love of nature, their particular passion for flowers. This towel border has a floral design punctuated by cypress trees. The silver-gilt thread and strips outline and emphasize the motifs which recall a gold calligraphic inscription.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 55cm, Width: 12.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Transferred to the Museum in 1949.","bibliography":"Beldescu, A., *Broderii turceşti*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 1997: 30, cat. no. 13.  \nDunca, M., *Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 45, no. 15.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["embroidery"],"materials":["Cotton embroidered with silk, silver-gilt thread and strips"]},"847012ff-11f1-5a0c-b2dd-0128cd68ab78":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This piece of cloth comes from a silk lampas fabric of which other fragments are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Dallas Museum of Art (Keir Collection of Islamic Art), among other institutions. The fabric is decorated with the figures of turbaned hunters, some of them holding a bird in each hand, while others carry a gazelle in their arms. Woven in light-yellow and orange thread, the hunters stand out clearly against the black silk. Hunters wearing turbans are typical of the Safawid period (1501–1722/36) and also adorn contemporary miniatures.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"42.5cm x 24.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; a fragment of this lampas is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, no. 06.1874","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, in 1951, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Andrews Reath, Nancy, and Eleanor B. Sachs, *Persian textiles and their technique from the sixth to the eighteenth centuries, including a system for general textile classification*, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937, cat. no. 66.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1‒2 (1992): 19–29, 24, fig. 3.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["lampas","Persian textile","Safawid textile","silk fabric"],"materials":["Brocaded lampas"]},"8a23cf21-8e40-56f8-a680-0a7470e6a67a":{"name":"Silk length","short_description":"This textile bears the popular ogival lattice pattern with crimson medallions surrounded by gilt bands woven with ivory cloud scrolls. The medallions contain palmettes, feathery leaves and naturalistic flowers, a combination regularly occurring on silks of the second half of the 16th century attributed to Istanbul. Around the middle of that century the Grand vizier Rüstem Pasha reorganized the city’s textile workshops with the aim of restricting the import of Italian silks.","type":"Silk, gilt metallic thread","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD second half 16th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 157 cm  \nWidth 98 cm","provenance":"Bursa or Istanbul","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["floral motifs","Ogival lattice pattern","Ottoman textile","textile"],"materials":["Silk, gilt metallic thread"]},"8afba048-0957-5c1e-afda-b13a74187ad5":{"name":"Cloth fragment.","description":"The many different colours of the fragment combine serenely and harmoniously. The mainly red of beige background is decorated with strips containing geometric motifs (mostly medallions) alternating with floral patterns (stylised scrolled stalks and leaves) and highly stylised birds.  \nThe motifs are mainly in blue (indigo), yellow (saffron), and red (cochineal dye or lacquer). Beige-green and other colours accompany these.  \nThe cloth is woven in the manner used by Coptic weavers over several centuries. This fragment appears to come from high Egypt, well-known since ancient times for its weaving of wool.","short_description":"Fragment of a heavily dyed fabric combining geometric and plant motifs. The needlework techniques and decorative motifs are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* from the Tulunid era. This fragment is thought to come from Upper Egypt, famed since Antiquity for its wool weaving.","type":"Textile, cloth, wool","holder":"Ribat Museum.","dates":"Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century.","location":"Monastir.","dimensions":"Oblong, length 74 cm width 13 cm.","method_for_datation":"The type of weaving and the decoration are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* dating from the same Tulunid era in the 3rd / 9th century.","method_for_provenance":"The type of weaving and the decoration are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* dating from the same era.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The cloth fragment 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.","dynasty":"Tulunid (Abbasid)","author":"Mourad Rammah","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"David Ash","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["figurative decoration","geometric decoration","textile","tiraz"],"materials":["Woven wool."]},"8c4076d1-62c9-5729-a3d5-d8c91345437b":{"name":"Bridal headdress","description":"An example of coin-adorned accessories from Palestine dating to the early twentieth century, this bridal headdress originates from the villages of the Jaffa area. The coins incorporated into bridal ornaments symbolised part of the bride’s dowry, traditionally gifted by the groom’s family and considered her personal property, which she could keep and use according to her wishes. The embroidered motifs and techniques featured on the headdress are characteristic of the Jaffa region’s village dress traditions and are also found on women’s garments from the area.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 48 cm; width 32cm","place_of_production":"Jaffa villages, Palestine","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Accessory","ceremony","marriage","Ornamentation","wedding"],"materials":["Cotton, silk, coins"]},"8ef1e4eb-e7ca-506a-8117-7e5c9d0e9a18":{"name":"Small Octagonal Pavilion Tent","short_description":"A tent comprising eight contiguous panels, each measuring 211cm x 135cm, and an octagonal canopy of eight triangular pieces. The plain-weave cotton exterior is embroidered with silk and metallic yarns, and the interior is lined with woven silk panels.  \nThe exterior of the tent is a plain-weave cotton, which is resistant to sunlight and less likely to be damaged by rain, while the interior is lined with more fragile and luxurious silk fabric. The form of this small pavilion tent inevitably recalls the shape of medieval Iranian octagonal tomb structures or gunbad, whose decorative brickwork frequently includes corner columns or \"tent poles.\"  \nOne of the eight wall panels is designed to open as an entrance, and the central part of each wall panel is embellished by a fabric \"grille\" that clearly imitates Persian wooden or metal grille-work. The design provides plenty of shade and privacy coupled with maximum air circulation, and the door panel could be closed for additional privacy.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 345.4cm x Width: 406.4cm x Diamter: 406.4cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Rasht, Persia (Iran), Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Asia","cotton","Iran","Metallic","Octagonal","Pavillion","Persia","Persian","Rasht","silk","tent","textile","Yarn"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, metallic yarns"]},"90f24fd2-747c-586e-b28c-441b69be0537":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment of silk velvet came from the tent of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566). The tent would have been seized by the sultan’s troops during one of the campaigns the Ottomans conducted in Persia from 1534 to 1554. Like the other fragments of the tent that have survived, it shows the refinement of the Persian textile arts in the 16th century, as well as their close links with miniatures. The execution of the figurative and floral motifs is highly accomplished. The design derives from the famous story of Khusraw and Shirin told in the poet Nizami’s *Khamsa* and illustrated in a great many miniatures. In that scene, Khusraw, who does not appear here, is usually shown with his finger to his lips in a gesture calling for silence. Another fragment of the tent is in the Keir Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. The Montreal Museum of Fine Art’s fragment shows Shirin bathing, her clothing hung on the branches of a tree and her saddled horse nearby. Unlike the other surviving fragments, the inscription “amal Ghiyāth Al-Dīn Djāmī” on the saddle enables the piece to be attributed to the celebrated Safavid weaver Ghiyāth Al-Dīn Djāmī. According to Ackerman, Djāmī was not only a virtuoso weaver, but also one of the masters of the royal library. Eight other pieces attest to the fact that the weaver was active during the second half of the 16th century.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"31cm x 58cm","provenance":"Iran, Tabriz","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Adolph Loewi, Los Angeles, in 1951, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Coulin Weibel, Adele, *Two Thousand Years of Textiles*, New York: Pantheon, 1952, no. 132.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 62.  \nUpham Pope, Arthur, and Phyllis Ackerman, *A Survey of Persian Art*, London: Oxford University Press, 1964, vol. VI, 1938‒9.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","materials":["Silk with golden and silver threads"]},"9162226d-73d0-5c61-8640-f03def3fa40a":{"name":"Pearl Trader’s Pearl Pouch","short_description":"This colourful little bag would have contained a pearl merchant's most priced pearls. Many such bags could be found in a pearl merchant's chest, each one containing a particular grade of pearl, determined by their shape, colour and level of surface perfection.","type":"Pouch","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Overall width c. 150 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","materials":["Cotton fabric with multi-coloured, cotton embroidery threads"]},"91ab6224-2ce2-5787-a444-869b675ead5e":{"name":"Camel cover","description":"Because of their comparatively low weight, their durability, multifunctionality and their versatility in design, flatweaves and pile weavings were of great importance for a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. Large tent bags, throws, or hangings were prominently displayed, especially on treks. This kilim belongs to a group of pieces that were used as camel covers. When thrown over a loaded animal, the large-patterned sections hang down on either side, while the solid red centre section envelops the humps and back. The surface design, coloration and patterning of the piece are characteristic of southwestern Anatolia and refer to the Fethiye region. A full description of how such pieces were used and their design was illustrated in detail by Harald Böhmer in 2004 (English edition 2008). The Dresden piece is in excellent condition. It shows a clear, skilful pattern and colour design and appealing, well-balanced details, such as the bright, lateral line pattern separating the zigzag of the red background and blue border.","type":"Animal trapping","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"20th century, first half, probably around 1930","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 347cm, Width: 140cm","provenance":"South West Anatolian, Fethiye region","obtention":"Among other pieces from their private collection this camel cover was donated to the museum by Hans-Jörg Schwabl and Roland Steffan in 2011 in appreciation for more than 10 years of presentations and activities in the field of carpet and textile art.","bibliography":"Black, D. and Loveless, C., *The Undiscovered Kilim*, London: David Black Oriental Carpets, (1977): plate 10.  \nBöhmer, H., *Nomads in Anatolia: Encounters with a Vanishing Culture*, Ganderkesee: Remhöb-Verlag, 2008: 220f (see images pages 221, 222, 224).","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["animal decoration"],"materials":["slit tapestry weave, interlock weave, floating wefts, wrapping wefts (contour thread)","wool"]},"94a5375c-0f26-51bb-b2ed-85c5c6b0cf18":{"name":"Portière (*kapı perdesi*)","short_description":"Used mostly to embellish garments, furnishings or household items, Islamic embroidery is also present on large textiles. The most important is *kiswa*, the cover enclosing the Ka'ba, which is sent every year to Mecca at the time of the pilgrimage. Over the door of the Ka'ba hangs an embroidery called *sitara*, decorated with inscriptions in different calligraphic styles. The present embroidery was probably destined to cover a mosque door. The rounded arch in the centre recalls the shape of the *mihrab* and its representation on prayer rugs. The entire surface of the cover, made from yellow, red, black, and turquoise pieces of silk, is decorated with cartouches and rosettes filled with vegetal and epigraphic motifs embroidered in the *dival* technique, i.e. over a base of paper or wool. The inscriptions, some of which were written in mirror-image, are illegible.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Height: 317cm, Width: 209cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Transferred in 1949 from the Toma Stelian Museum in Bucharest.","bibliography":"Beldescu, A., *Broderii turceşti*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 1997: 14, cat. no.1.  \nDunca, M., *Scrierea în arta islamică*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2000: 66, cat. no. 40.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Mirror inscription"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silver-gilt thread"]},"9543dd9a-7bf0-51dd-86f0-064bea14a470":{"name":"Asbe woman's headdress","description":"Traditional Jordanian headpieces worn across northern and central Jordan, crafted from richly patterned fabric woven in Syria using the brocade technique. The headpiece is worn wrapped around the head and placed on top, traditionally appearing in black or red.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 125 cm and 147 cm; width: 125 cm and 138 cm","place_of_production":"Central Jordan (Salt,  Karak, Jordan Valley)","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["brocade","Clothing","silk","textile","weave"],"materials":["Silk, metal"]},"97d4beaa-5849-5058-abb5-afc6bdc006cd":{"name":"Tapestry ‘after the Indian Manner’","description":"A tapestry with a number of colourful scenes and figure groups arranged on small islands decorated with exotic birds and flowering plants on a dark brown ground. These include a couple standing under a canopy holding by servants in the centre, two girls standing in front of a zig-zag fence with a parrot at the upper left, a small pagoda and a group of a sitting and a standing man in the upper right, two musicians, one with a drum and the other with beaters (the musical instrument is missing) in the lower foreground, and a monkey sitting on a palm tree at the lower right corner. The borders are composed of garlands of flowers and fruit arranged in Chinese pots in the lower border, linked with bunches of a silk ribbon in the upper border, decorated with candlesticks (?) in the right and the left sides and parrots and herons at the corners.","type":"Wall tapestry","holder":"Eszterháza Kulturális, Kutató- és Fesztiválközpont","owner":"Eszterháza Kulturális, Kutató- és Fesztiválközpont, Fertőd-Eszterháza","dates":"Early 18th century","location":"Fertőd-Eszterháza","dimensions":"L: 175cm, W: 225cm; warp: 55/dm, weft: 90/dm; density: 5,5","method_for_datation":"John Vanderbank worked as the head of the Great Wardrobe workshop in London from 1689 to 1717. The cheaper versions of tapestries 'after Indian manner', made for commercial sale were woven in the later period of the Vanderbank's workshop.","method_for_provenance":"John Vanderbank as the head of the Great Wardrobe workshop in London from 1689 to 1717, provided tapestries woven with ‘chinoiserie’ designs inspired by Chinese and Indian sources, lacquer panels, printed textiles etc. for Queen Mary’s apartments at Kensington Palace in 1690. Later he produced a second series with similar designs, but less elaborate figures, as cheaper versions for commercial sale. Numerous examples of Vanderbank's less elaborate series are known from the early 1700s – including, within the National Trust's collection, a small panel at Nunnington Hall in Yorkshire (no. 980694). – which is very close to this tapestry. Another, more similar item from the L. V. Hart collection was sold at Christie’s, November 12, 1964, no. 162, and November 29, 1979, no. 107. (Standen 1980, 126, fig. 10.), which depicts the same arrangement of the island panels, the couple under a canopy, the musicians, the ladies standing in front of a zig-zag fence, the pagoda, a monkey sitting on a palm tree and is framed by the same border-design.","provenance":"London (?)","obtention":"Purchased from a private collection in xxxx","bibliography":"The tapestry is unpublished.  \n  \nStanden, E. A., “English Tapestries ‘After the Indian Manner’” , *Metropolitan Museum Journal*, 15 (1980): 119-142.","workshop":"Probably made in the Great Wardrobe tapestry workshop of John Vanderbank the elder, on Great Queen Street, Covent Garden in London","author":"Emese Pásztor","keywords":["\"Indian Manner - Chinoiserie\"","Chinese influence","decorative arts","exotic birds","Exotic flowering plants","figurative decoration","floral decoration","Indian influence","silk","Warp","wool"],"materials":["Warp: wool, weft: wool, silk"]},"9a5f6ab0-8a7b-5628-869a-8623164a2cfe":{"name":"*Invasion of the French camp. The Swiss refuse to advance despite the interventions of their leaders*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nThis tapestry depicts one of the decisive moments of the Battle of Pavia: the civilians are escaping from the French encampment, which is being attacked by the imperial troops, in the vicinity of the Vernavola river, through the breaches made in the wall of Visconti Park during the siege. The episode provides an opportunity to show everyday narratives: a soldier in the foreground runs away, carrying off with him a couple of chickens, while he looks towards the viewer, involving us in the scene; a woman in the distance carries a basket with two geese; a friar, frightened, is running. In the foreground, the Swiss infantry (recognisable by the flag with a white cross) who had fought with the French, proving their courage and valour, all hope of victory lost and surrounded on all sides, yield to the imperial cavalry, throwing their pikes to the ground, deaf to the cries of their officers, and try to seek safety in flight or surrender. In the foreground, amongst the soldiers one can make out a drummer, a piper and a standard bearer with a longsword, figures who often recur in military iconography. The figure in the centre of the tapestry has been identified as the Swiss captain Jean de Diesbach, who offers himself up to the sword of the enemy cavalier so he can die with honour (Casali 1993).","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 435cm, W: 880cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"9afc3a98-4df9-5b49-8fc3-7de673068f6c":{"name":"Embroidered linen.","description":"An embroidered textile thought to have served either as a cover for a divan (low sofa seat); a quilt facing; or as a hanging such as a curtain for a door. It is made up of three vertical lengths of linen sewn together and embroidered. The lattice design is inspired by AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century silk textiles, and contains rows of palmettes made up of tulips and carnations, with the edges of the palmettes shaped in the form of serrated leaves. The silk-thread colours of red, green, blue and yellow are typical of the period; the stitch used is a regular darning stitch with the length of three counted threads over the linen, and one under it. Silk embroidery of the AH 11th- / AD 17th-century was a relatively cheap option for those who wanted to enjoy sumptuous textiles, given that woven-silk fabrics were much more expensive.  \n  \nIt is sometimes difficult to distinguish between embroideries made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade. The pattern on this embroidery indicates that it was most probably made professionally in a workshop, because the composition relates strongly to similar designs found on woven-silk textiles of the time. This particular embroidery, unlike many similar to it in design, has no decorated border round its edges. This may suggest that it was used as a quilt facing. Quilts were backed with a sheet on one side; the edges of the sheet turned over the edge of the quilt, and lightly stitched on to the front where the quilt-facing would then be stitched too.","short_description":"It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Ottoman embroideries that were made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade, as both kinds are of such high quality, of which this is an example. With no borders, this embroidery was most probably used as a quilt facing.","type":"Ottoman textile","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 221 cm, width 143 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on contemporary Ottoman woven-silk textiles.","method_for_provenance":"The pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on contemporary Turkish Ottoman woven-silk textiles.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["crafts and trade","domestic furnishing","floral decoration"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with coloured floss-silk threads."]},"9b960e40-8e8e-58fe-bdb1-3947c5bce14d":{"name":"Textile fragment with white ground with the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, surrounded by angels, tulips, roses and honeysuckle","short_description":"The image on the textile is of Our Lady of Victories (*Nikopoia*); she is holding the Christ Child, who has his arms outstretched in a gesture of the Crucifixion. Fabrics with Christian motifs were woven in the Ottoman Empire for liturgical vestments of the Orthodox liturgy and exported, Russia being an example. The Christian motif is framed by plants of Ottoman origin, such s the tulip and the honeysuckle.","type":"Ottoman textile fragment, lampas, gold lamella, Liturgical garment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"4th quarter of 16th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 55cm, W: 58cm","provenance":"Ottoman empire, Istanbul or Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Noever, Peter (ed), *Global Lab. Kunst als Botschaft. Asien und Europa 1500 - 1700. Ausstellung Museum für angewandte Kunst Wien, 03. Juni bis 27. September 2009*, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2009: cat. nr. 157 (97).","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-92909","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Christian themes","liturgical vestment","Madonna","tulip"],"materials":["Lampas","Silk, gold lamella"]},"9d7d8f95-c69d-5158-8fc8-44463428b5eb":{"name":"Shapeable cloak","description":"From the 1970s to the 1990s, important figures in fashion like Ursula Rodel, Ruth Grüninger, Hannes Bühler, Ida Gut, and Dorothee Vogel influenced the Swiss designer Christa de Carouge whose work represented a new departure for Swiss fashion. Japan also inspired her, and she created pieces that became a part of the women who wore them — which is especially true in the case of this cloak. Its silk fabric combined with copper wire allowed the wearer to shape it with her hands to create an object in the form she desired.","type":"Cloak","holder":"Swiss National Museum","owner":"Swiss Confederation","dates":"1994","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"H: 113cm","method_for_datation":"Information by the Designer","provenance":"Switzerland, Zurich","obtention":"Bought in 1994","workshop":"Jakob Schlaepfer AG, St. Gallen","keywords":["Christa de Carouge","coat","Shapeable","silk","Zurich"],"materials":["Silk, copper wire"]},"9ea5b136-b63e-5eb6-8022-d5574ad81fc3":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"This rectangular fragment shows a typical composition with moon and sun.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 10th–11th century / AD 16th–17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 60 cm, length 152 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["fabric","Ottoman textiles","textile","Velvet"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"9f93aaa3-18ce-5348-92f9-9826ae78f586":{"name":"Textile.","description":"This large textile is embroidered on ivory-coloured organzine with lightweight pale-green silk satin (*atlas*) used as a base. The piece is particularly intricate and extremely refined, and most of it was needle-embroidered using silver-plated copper thread. The principal decorative motif is an ornate centre that resembles a prayer niche (*mihrab*), which is formed by a poly-lobed arch standing on two small columns, within which hangs a mosque lamp. A double rectangular cornice rounds off the decoration of the fabric. Its entire surface has been finely worked with a rich variety of motifs, including naturalistic vegetal motifs (flowers, leaves and small cypress trees) and epigraphic motifs. The repeated appearance of the *tughra*, the official monogram of the sultan as stamped on state documents, is of particular interest. Other inscriptions reproduce religious words and expressions relating to the Qur'an, both to ward off evil (‘*ana gelse red*’’ – ‘if difficulties arise, drive them away’) and for good omens (‘*el'an ba ' d-din*’ – ‘always with faith’). This fabric results from the manufacture of prayer mats (*seccade*) during the Ottoman era at the end of the AH 13th / AD 19th century. This piece may have been produced in Turkey or Egypt, although it was probably made in Ottoman Palestine.","short_description":"This sumptuously decorated fabric is a *seccade*, or prayer mat, finely decorated with naturalistic, plant and epigraphic motifs. It also includes the *tughra* (monogram) of Sultan Mustafa IV.","type":"Silk, satin, organzine","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 277 cm, width 192 cm.","method_for_datation":"From stylistic analysis, confirmed by the *tughra*, which is a late reproduction of the *tughra* of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa IV (1222–3 / 1807–8).","method_for_provenance":"Through comparison with textile in the Museo del Tesoro di S. Pietro in the Vatican (see Orlando in Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey, Egypt or Palestine.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Fontana, M. V., “Un Seccade Ottomano Tardo Ottocentesco'” *Turcica et Islamica. Studi in Memoria di Aldo Gallotta, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale*”, Is.IAO, Series Minor, LXIV, Naples, 2003, pp.185–203.  \nOrlando, F. S., *Il Tesoro di S. Pietro*, Milan, 1958, p.90 and table 164.  \nTaylor R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993  \nTorre P., “Tessuto Ricamato di Epoca Ottomana”, in *Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali: Acquisizioni e Donazioni 1999–2000*, Rome, 2002, pp.72–3.  \nTorre P., “Arte Tessile di Epoca Ottomana nei Corredi di una Famiglia di Aleppo”, in *Un Oriente di Seta e d'Oro* (ed. P. Torre), Rome, 2003, pp.32–56.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["calligraphy","embroidery","floral decoration","mihrab","prayer mat","Seccade","textile","tughra"],"materials":["Silk satin and organzine embroidered with metal thread."]},"a1e1c4a1-795f-51e4-afb8-1a29468bb285":{"name":"Receptacle","short_description":"This container for short cavalry spears (*dschirid*) comprises a high cylindrical case made of blue damask embroidered with arabesques and crescent moons in gold and red silk. Set among these purely ornamental motifs is a tulip with red embroidered petals. Mounted Ottoman warriors used the short lances originally stored in this receptacle both in battle and in equestrian games; they were thrown at a target by a warrior mounted on a galloping horse.","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD 16th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Length: 92cm","method_for_datation":"Comparison with similar objects","method_for_provenance":"ILG / BOEHEIM, 1883  \nInventory of Furniture and Small Artefacts held at Ambras Castle, page 6","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection of Ambras castle; documented since AD 1882","bibliography":"Sandbichler, Veronika, *Türkische Kostbarkeiten aus dem Kunsthistorischen Museum Wien*, exh. cat., Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1997.  \nScheicher, Elisabeth et al. (eds), *Kunsthistorisches Museum Sammlungen Schloss Ambras. Die Kunstkammer*, Innsbruck: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1977.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Veronika Sandbichler, Thomas Kuster","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["arabesque","embroidery","embroides","floral decoration","floral motifs","horsemanship","military object","Ottoman army","ottoman empire","textile"],"materials":["Damast, gold embroidery"]},"a319402b-f899-522c-a00d-0966b699e425":{"name":"Cloth","short_description":"This devotional textile would hang from the ceiling or walls inside the Kaaba, the Muslim house of God in Mecca. Qur’anic verses in different calligraphy styles appear printed on red silk. Sultans would drape the Kaaba’s interior walls in silk from China or India as a religious offering since the Mamluk sultan al-Nassir Hassan in 1359.  \n  \nIn medallions, *Tughra* calligraphy illustrates prayers and God’s names “the Merciful” and “the Generous”. The opening chapter of the Qur’an *al-Fatiha* and the *shahada* or declaration of faith rest between serrated lines in *thuluth* calligraphy.  \n  \nProtected from environmental factors inside the Kaaba, Muslim rulers would not change the interior silks annually but wash them twice a year. As a form of worship, the bestowal of this cloth would simultaneously achieve closeness to the shrine for blessings, reinforce the sanctity of the Kaaba and remind of the sultan’s power and prestige.","type":"Religious relics","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"19th century","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 120cm, Width: 76.5cm","place_of_production":"Syria","method_for_datation":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, calligraphy, and style.","method_for_provenance":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, calligraphy, and style.","provenance":"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mecca","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Basahih, N. A., \"Crafting the Kaaba Kiswa’s, context and traditional practices\", *Australia, Perth: Futuring Craft IOTA21 Conference*, (2021).  \nBehrens-Abouseif, D., *Practising diplomacy in the Mamluk sultanate: Gifts and material culture in the medieval Islamic world*, London / New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.  \nHutchings, T., and McKenzie, J. (eds), *Materiality and the study of religion: The stuff of the sacred*, London: Taylor & Francis, 2016.  \nPersson, H., \"Chinese Silks in Mamluk Egypt\", *Global Textile Encounters* ,(2018): 107–118.  \nSardi, M., \"Weaving for the Hajj under the Mamluks\", *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, 2013: 169–174.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Kaaba","Mecca","Ottoman","Saudi Arabia","silk","Syria","Textiles"],"materials":["Print","Silk, wood"]},"a4efc787-cbd4-5a26-bc2a-aa36772b6549":{"name":"Tent.","description":"This tent belongs to the type of double-columned, rectangular tents with an oval floor plan. It consists of two rectangular walls, each of nine sections, and a roof. The two roof sections of the long sides and the triangular pieces of the short sides form a covering that resembles a vault. The tent roof and the walls are fastened to each other by a toggle and loop system. On the interior and exterior of the tent, this joint section is hidden by a valance. The lower edge of the tent wall also has a valance. The ceiling is supported by two columns. The wall sections do not have struts, but are made taut by guy ropes.  \nThe outer shell of the tent is of plain verdigris cloth. Only the inner shell of red cloth is decorated with a rich array of patterns. The composition and the motifs of this tent conform to general Ottoman tent ornamentation showing columns, arches, vases and medallions. A section of the wall was taken as a basic unit and its scheme of decoration was repeated on each of the other sections. The arches are filled with medallions called 'sun' (*şemse*). Each of the pointed medallions shows a great variety of flowers growing out from vase motifs. The dense floral infilling of the medallions and the borders presents the illusion of a garden. The arch and column motif likewise occurs on the ceiling of the tent. The ceiling with a band of star motifs between the two columns of the tent symbolises the sky.  \nThe ornamentation is worked in the hemmed appliqué technique. Pieces of silk fabric in various shapes and colours in combination with small pieces of leather were sewn to a ground to form patterns. It was carried out by placing a maximum of five layers of fabric on top of each other.  \nThe Swedes were never directly engaged in war against the Ottomans. Fighting against the Saxons, they captured a great deal of booty, also coming into ownership of Turkish tents.","short_description":"Tent with an oval floor plan and two columns. The walls and roof are decorated with flowers and trees growing out of vases – the perfect illusion of a garden. In addition, the roof forming a vault shows a band of stars in the middle of the ceiling, symbolising the sky.","type":"Cotton, silk, embroidery","holder":"Army Museum.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 4.13 m, circumference 30 m.","method_for_datation":"The tent was captured from the Ottomans in 1683 following their failed siege of Vienna so it can be assumed that its date of manufacture was in the years before.","method_for_provenance":"It was captured from the Turks. The tent shows traditional Ottoman form.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"The tent came into the personal possession of the Swedish King Charles II in 1702. It was acquired by the Army Museum in 1898.","bibliography":"Atasoy, N., *Otag-i Hümayun: The Ottoman Imperial Tent Complex*, Istanbul, 2000.  \nKlingberg, G., Wallenborg, I. and Andersson, A., “Ett Blommande Turkiskt 1600 Talstält”, *Armémuseum Rapport*, no. 3, Stockholm, 1987.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["appliqué technique","floral decoration","tent","Textiles"],"materials":["appliqué.","Cotton, silk, leather"]},"a5d9b0f5-29b8-59b7-a686-aa28e8c93f06":{"name":"Cushion cover.","description":"A hand-woven cushion cover of rectangular form that would have been used to back the low divans or sofas in Ottoman palaces from the AH 10th / AD 16th century onwards. The cushion is made of crimson-red voided velvet (a technique whereby the pile is cropped so short that the structure and colour of the field can be seen), and woven with green and cream threads. The composition is typical of the period, with a central field and two arched boarders; a large floral medallion fills the central field in this example. Having completed such a cover, the weaver did not cut it off the loom, but inserted a wooden baton between the Warp and the weft, and began on the next cover.","short_description":"This cushion cover is made of a crimson-red voided velvet, where parts of its pile have been cropped very short so that the structure and colours of the warp and weft are exposed, creating an elaborate floral pattern. This type of velvet was sought after both within the Ottoman Empire and beyond.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk, velvet","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 129 cm, width 65 cm.","method_for_datation":"Artistic analysis: the elements of the pattern (a central field and two arched boarders; a large floral medallion in the central field) are a recurring theme in a variety of Turkish textiles and ceramics from the 10th / 16th century onwards.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["court life","floral decoration","the harem"],"materials":["Hand-woven silk velvet."]},"a8fb3f11-1722-5b52-88a0-02f16ae87377":{"name":"Suzani '*palak*'","short_description":"“*Suzani*” or “*suzane*” derives from the Persian word \"*suzan*\" for \"needle\" and refers to bright silk embroidered wall hangings and bedspreads that adorned homes of people on festive occasions. The *suzani* culture developed in the ancient centres of agriculture and urban civilization of Central Asia (Turkestan) that for centuries served as points on international trade routes of the Great Silk Road.  \nThis is an excellent sample of an old Tashkent *suzani* called *palak*. This was the only kind of *suzani* where solar and astral motifs dominate over vegetative ones. According to ethnographical research data, big circles of the traditional *palak* pattern represent the moon and stars that were believed to provide good health and enhance female reproductive ability.  \nThe whole surface of the piece is entirely embroidered. Only natural dyes were used to colour the threads of the *suzani*. The dating of the item is supported by the bright hue of cochineal red dye, which was in use until the 1890s.","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"Second half of AD 19th century (1860s–70s)","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 273cm, Width: 203cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by C. Abdullayev (examination, 1960-s, date, origin), H. Rudyk (publication, 2011, date specified).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register.","provenance":"Tashkent, Central Asia","obtention":"Purchased by the Khanenko Museum in 1962. Private collection of A.I. Rabinovych.","bibliography":"Izrailova, A., \"Suzani Vernacular: Technique and Design in the Central Asian Dowry Embroideries\", *Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings*, 6 (1998): 301–309.  \nMalik, C., \"Suzani Embroidery of Uzbekistan\", in Jasleen Dhamija (ed), *Asian Embroidery*, New Delhi: Shakti Malik Abhinav Publications, 2004: 85–92.  \nRudyk, H. (ed). *Suzani - Amulet of Life: Ritual embroidery from Central Asia of 19th - 20th centuries from private collections of Ukraine and the Khanenko Museum's holdings*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2011.  \nSukhareva, O., Suzani. *Central Asian Decorative Embroidery*, Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura RAN, 2006.","dynasty":"Russian protectorate","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Central Asia","embroidery","silk","Suzani","Tashkent"],"materials":["bosma, ilmog and yurma techniques","Silk embroidery on hand-woven cotton (mate) ground"]},"a99cf552-1072-57f5-8df5-32e5ba6b0d48":{"name":"Velvet saddle cloth","short_description":"This saddle cloth is made from two lengths of fabric sewn down the centre and woven with a mirror-image design on either side. A characteristic Ottoman flora of carnations, tulips with pomegranates proliferates from a central ogival cartouche. This exceptionally fine textile was probably never used and is in a pristine condition. A similar saddle cloth is in Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo.","type":"Ottoman equestrian textile, Cotton, lamella","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD late 16th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 185 cm","provenance":"Bursa","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["decoration","floral motifs","Ottoman textile","Saddle","textile"],"materials":["Silk, gilt metallic thread"]},"aa65e43b-2697-5ab6-8268-8bf7323bae3c":{"name":"Qashqa´i kilim","description":"In the 11th century, the Turkic peoples immigrated from Central Asia to Persia and probably lived first in northwestern Persia. It is unknown when the Qashqa´i moved to the southwest, but certainly at the latest when Turkmen conquered the Fars region in the middle of the 15th century. Many ethnic groups in southern and southwestern Persia, including several non-Turkmen, produced pile weavings and flatweaves. We have mainly come across works dating from the end of the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century. Due to confederations, pattern transfers and other considerations, it is not always possible to make a clear tribal attribution, especially with flatweaves. Some pieces are called \"Qashqa´i\" to indicate the outstanding quality of the work. The colour canon, pattern and shape, as well as material and fineness of this piece, suggest that it is a work of the Darashuri (sub-tribe of the Qashqa´i). The infinite repetition of colour-changing diamonds in free succession, often filled with diamonds and smaller cross shapes, appears both cheerful and unconstrained as well as powerfully determined. With its free, lively design, this flatweave is a characteristic example of a slit tapestry by southwestern Persia nomads.","type":"Carpet/cover/hanging","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"Late 19th century–early 20th century","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 260cm, Width: 150cm","provenance":"South West Persian, Fars region","obtention":"Purchased from a Dresden private household in 1984.","bibliography":"Opie, J., *Tribal Rugs*, Portland, London: Laurence King Publishing, 1992: 116, plate 7.14.  \nPetsopoulos, Y., *Der Kelim*, Munich: Prestel, 1980: no. 388, 391.  \nRippon Boswell & Co., *Katalog Nr. 40. Große Frühjahrsauktion*, Wiesbaden: Rippon Boswell & Co, 1994: no. 172.  \nSadighi, H. and Hawkes, K., *Kelims der Nomaden und Bauern Persiens*, Berlin: Galerie Neiriz, 1990: plate 37, 39, 40.","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Tribal"],"materials":["slit tapestry weave","wool"]},"aed82efb-32d2-5811-bb33-9c50bdadf8ac":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment is an exceptional example of Buyid dynasty (945–1055) textiles from both a historical and an aesthetic viewpoint. The frieze is adorned with two-headed eagles carrying a winged creature and with stylized trees. The light-brown motifs are embellished with epigraphs that are particularly noticeable on the tops of the trees and on the band bordering the textile’s upper edge. The fragment’s style and iconography are similar to those of a group of four textiles discovered in the ancient necropolis of Nakhara Khanah, near Rayy. It remains to be determined whether this textile was designed to serve as a shroud or was selected from the belongings of the deceased.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"11th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"21cm x 51.5cm","method_for_datation":"The date was attributed by Gaston Wiet, *Soieries persanes*, Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1948: pp. 35–41, no. 4. Two comparable examples are in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art (nos. 55.52 and 62.264).","provenance":"Iran, Rayy","obtention":"Gift of F. Cleveland Morgan  \nGift of F. Cleveland Morgan in 1946, purchased from the Iranian Institute in New York the same year","bibliography":"Coulin Weibel, Adele, *Two Thousand Years of Textiles*, New York: Pantheon, 1952: 107.  \nGrube, Ernst J., *The World of Islam*, Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1966: 42.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 64.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1–2 (1992): 19–29, 19, fig. 1.  \nShepherd, Dorothy G., “Medieval Persian Silks in Fact and Fancy”, *Bulletin de liaison du CIETA (Centre internationale d'étude des textiles anciens)*, 39‒40 (1974): 1–135.  \nUpham Pope, Arthur, *Masterpieces of Persian Art*, New York: Dryden Press, 1945: 72.  \nWiet, Gaston, *Soieries persanes*, Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1948: 10.","dynasty":"Buyid (945–1055)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Buyid art","epigraphs","Islamic textile","Persian textile","silks"],"materials":["Silk"]},"b0034e9d-b0b0-5bbc-a3c7-5d26a2e4d496":{"name":"Textile","description":"Cotton textile made in twill weave. The complete surface is decorated, in different colours, with the writing decoration in silver and white lines.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"68 x 48 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design","Islamic influence"],"materials":["Cotton and silver; tabby or plain weave, twill weave and stecilled decoration"]},"b0fa7fe2-6439-5e4b-b775-f8024f171d3b":{"name":"Military banner","short_description":"This large banner was designed by the Ottoman calligrapher Sami Effendi (Hegira 1254–1330 / AD 1838–1912). It is inscribed with Qur’anic verses, praises of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, proclamation of faith, and sayings. The inscription brocaded on the main field reflects the invocation used in war and combat. The signature of the calligrapher, Sami Effendi appears at the bottom right of this central rectangle panel, with an inscription that reads “Contentment is an everlasting treasure”.  \nSami Effendi’s father, Mahmud Effendi was the head of the quilt makers who was also involved in the preparation of banners and flags. The delicacy of the design reflects his experience and well deserved reputation as a renowned calligrapher. Large banner, or *sanjak*s, such as this was known to have been used to define the military districts of the Ottoman empire. They were mounted onto buildings or ships during expeditions, carried on poles during ceremonies and guarded well in war times.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"325 x 210cm","provenance":"Turkey","bibliography":"Burhan, Emiroglu, *Askeri Muzee: Military Museum*, Istanbul: Ak Yanlar, 1983. Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Symbols of Power and Beauty: The collection of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2015: 72-74. *Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Volume 2, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2015: 330-331.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Brocaded silk and gilt threads"]},"b3b30c50-746b-58e7-9d2b-8bf0e782271e":{"name":"Tiraz Textile","short_description":"This linen textile with its regal purple inscription naming the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir has lost much of it original length due to its use as a burial shroud. However, it preserves almost its full width, spanned by the decorative inscription band. Known as a “*tiraz*” textile, it is unusually wide and was perhaps a shawl. The term “*tiraz*” actually means “embroidery,” but came to denote an inscription band as one sees on these textiles and on anything else, including architecture. Most of the medieval textiles discovered in excavations in Egypt had been used as burial shrouds and have suffered similar deterioration. Only those that found their way into European church treasuries are well preserved and give us an idea of how the full garment appeared. *Tiraz* textiles, despite their Arabic inscriptions, were highly valued in Europe as relics of the Holy Land and appear as the costumes of Christ and the Virgin in Italian Renaissance paintings.","type":"Textile","holder":"Aga Khan Museum","dates":"Second half of 11th century","location":"Toronto, Ontario","dimensions":"82 x 57cm","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Purchased at auction","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Alessandra Cirelli","keywords":["inscription","linen","linen-textile","tabby","Tapestry","textile","tiraz","tiraz-textile","woven"],"materials":["Linen tabby","with purple, yellow, and blue silk, and undyed linen tapestry-woven inscription"]},"b6282964-23a4-5cdd-b1c4-c5430389d505":{"name":"Cover","short_description":"Silk velvet textile fragment in a pattern of staggered rows of carnation flower-heads growing out of tulip buds, with serrated leaves and diminutive trees in the interstices. Brocaded and voided velvet with metal thread.","type":"Textile Furnishings, silk velvet","holder":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Kuwait City","provenance":"Turkey, Bursa","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["floral motifs","Ottoman textile fragment","textile"]},"b6c68555-4721-5c09-8439-5598ae6f7fdd":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A textile fragment of plain-woven linen with tapestry-woven decorative bands executed in silk, the pattern comprising three horizontal, superposed decorative bands, each separated by areas of plain weaving. The uppermost band, flanked by golden scrolling borders with red outlines and blue detailing, contains a zigzag band with a simple scroll outlined in red on a golden ground. Blue trident-like motifs fill the remaining spaces above and below the zigzag pattern. Below this is a slightly narrower decorative stripe that has a cursive inscription set against a deep-red background, flanked by stylised split-palmette borders above and below. The third and narrowest band has a central wavy green strip on a gold background, and two gold palmette-scroll borders set on a red ground.  \n  \nThis textile fragment is a good example of the artistic influence that the Coptic communities who settled in Egypt had on textile production during the Fatimid period. There remains to this day a sizeable Coptic population in Egypt.","short_description":"Islamic Egypt was famed for the production of sophisticated wool, linen and silk textiles made in specialist workshops. These were manned by Coptic Christian textile workers as well as Muslims. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen, tapestry silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 6th century / AD 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 33.02 cm, width 33.02 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been tentatively dated to the 6th/12th century on the basis of general similarities with other textiles of the Fatimid period.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka","Fatimid textiles","Henry Wallis","linen","silk","textile"],"materials":["Plain-woven linen, and tapestry-woven silk."]},"b7f46ff9-52a1-5495-80f5-c075d3bfc0da":{"name":"*Defeat of the French cavalry. The imperial infantry seize the enemy’s artillery*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the right-hand border of the fabric; this mark can also be observed on another tapestry in the series. The presence of the weaver’s mark has also allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: between 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here should be read in close continuity with the subject represented in *Advance of the imperial troops*. In fact, by juxtaposing the two tapestries one can reconstruct, as C. Paredes suggests, the landscape and the troop movements on the battlefield. In particular, in the foreground one can recognise the group of imperial arquebusiers, led by their commander, Fernando Francesco d’Avalos, who is identified by the letters “MAR. DE PES” (an abbreviation of “Marquis of Pescara”) on the neck of his horse. In the centre, further writing, “MARQ.IS DU VASTE”, indicates the presence on the battlefield of Alfonso d’Avalos, Marquis of Vasto. On the right is depicted the ferocious battle between the imperial landsknechts, led by Georg von Frundsberg, distinguished by their white and red sashes, and the mercenary troops of the “Banda Nera”, in the service of the French. Noting the detail of the capture of the French artillery in the panoramic overview extending into the preceding tapestry, as mentioned above, it is possible to discern that the French canons have stopped firing to avoid striking the back of their King, who, breaking through the ranks, throws himself at the enemy, just as sources describe.  \nThis tapestry, along with three others in the series, still has its original border, with decorative motifs in which flowers, fruit, birds and animals are depicted. However, according to a description from the 1770s, the lower borders originally introduced decorative motifs with tritons and sea horses, similar to those that appear in the *Hunts of Maximilian*, another series of tapestries produced for Charles V by the same workshop from designs by van Orley, and today in the Louvre. Hence, the entire lower strip, detached some time after the 1770s and subsequently reassembled, appears to have been re-sewn using parts of the borders of other tapestries, which now are missing them, and which were originally intended to adorn the vertical edge of the fabric (Buchanan 2002).","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 439cm, W: 867cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Alfonso d’Avalos","atelier","Battle of Pavia","Bernard van Orley","Carlo V","drawings","Fernando Francesco d’Avalos","Flemish tapestries","frames","Francesco Fernando d’Avalos","Francis I","National Archaeological Museum","preparatory cartoons","Visconti Park","Willem Dermoyen"],"materials":["gold and silver thread","Wool, silk and cotton"]},"b914b3ad-c4ec-5742-a411-fc1720a3eb43":{"name":"Embroidery","short_description":"This embroidery fragment is decorated with colourful flower arrangements placed in staggered rows on a cream-coloured ground.","type":"Embroidery; textile; fabric","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 94 cm, length 125 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["embroidery","fabric","floral motifs","Ottoman textiles","textile"],"materials":["embroidery"]},"bb7952b6-4d91-5465-865c-1ced864ef922":{"name":"Painted wall-hanging: The Day of Judgement (*Ruz-e mahshar*)","short_description":"A painted wall-hanging depicts the *Day of Judgement* from a Shi'ite perspective in Isfahan. The main theme is the reward given in paradise to the martyrs who fell at Kerbala on 10 October 680, corresponding to the Islamic date 10 Muharram 61, and the agonies of their enemies on Judgement Day. Elements of Christian iconography are present. There is the trumpeting angel who blows into the bugle at the Last Judgement; the receiving of the arisen into heaven; the two angels who attend to the weighing scale of the souls; the chosen ones who await their entry into paradise; the blood witnesses who in advance enjoy the delights of paradise; and finally those of different faiths and traitors, who, already condemned, stand before the infernal ground. There are also new elements: the prophet of Islam is now an established, important figure, and Christ, the judge of the world, assumes the part of a precursor-prophet.","type":"Textile","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 350cm, W: 370cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"Catalog entry: \"Purchased from Saeed Motamed, Frankfurt am Main, 1958.\"","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"The Day of Judgement, Ruz-e mahshar\", in Christian Schicklgruber (ed), *Weltmuseum Wien, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 268-269.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton, pigment"]},"bcb08e82-a842-5d85-bc9a-00e84a746ec1":{"name":"Dragon Sileh (Zili) rug or Verneh (Varni) Cover","description":"This rug, originally intended as a cover, was woven in two pieces and sewn together in the middle. Also known as \"Dragon Zili\" rugs, these carpets were mainly woven in the Jabrail District of Artsak (Nagorno-Karabagh), using the soumak technique. Their characteristic pattern consists of stylized dragons in the shape of an \"S\" aligned in horizontal and vertical rows. The colour of the dragon alternates; their bodies are filled with tinier \"S\" motifs; the spaces in between with human, animal, and geometric patterns. In Azerbaijan and Russian literature, such items are called *Verneh* (Varni) covers. Its speciality lies in the fact that the direction of the \"S\"-shaped dragons in the bottom row of the right side is opposite the rest.","type":"Flatwoven cover","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"19th century","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 290cm + 24 cm fringe, Width: 221cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Caucasus, Karabagh","obtention":"Donated by Dr. Ottó Fettick, 1949","bibliography":"Gombos, Károly, Kaukasische Webteppiche/Caucasian Flat-woven Rugs, *Ars Decorativa*, 6 (1979): 165, and figure 6.  \nKovács, B., and Pál, E. (eds), *Far Away from Mount Ararat: Armenian Culture in the Carpathian Basin*, exhibition Catalogue, Budapest: National Széchényi Library (Leipziger Universitätsverlag) - Budapest History Museum, 2013: 177, no. VI.8 \\[Emese Pásztor\\].  \nVoit, Pál (ed), *Régiségek könyve/Book of Antiquities*, Budapest: Gondolat, 1983: 444, figure 33.","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","translator":"Boldizsár Fejérvári","keywords":["cotton","dragon","soumak","Weft wrapping","wool"],"materials":["Warp: wool","Weft-wrapping: plain and countered soumak","Weft: wool and cotton"]},"bf169ede-be12-53cb-9b5e-3959e1451970":{"name":"Tent hanging.","description":"This long, narrow, silk textile consists of a central field with a border. The central field shows a loosely conceived lattice composed of interconnected tulips, four of which face towards an eight-petalled rosette at every junction of the lattice. The spaces created by the lattice contain eight-pointed-star motifs; these in turn contain a central roundel enclosing an eight-petalled rosette with green trefoils and red serrated leaves, which extend outwards from the border of the roundels. The whole composition of the central field is set against a deep crimson background. The outer border consists of an inner and outer band with floral scrolling that encloses a central area enhanced by an intricate arabesque scroll.  \nTent hangings such as this one were used to adorn the interior ‘walls’ of tents used by royalty or high officials when they were away from their urban palaces.","short_description":"This silk tent panel, with its floral lattice design of tulip heads and rosettes enclosing central star motifs recalling imperial Ottoman textiles, is attributed to Syria on the basis of stylistic similarities with contemporary artefacts and textiles made in that important Ottoman province.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD late 16th–early 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 61.1 cm, width 12.7 cm.","method_for_datation":"The piece has been dated to the 11th / late 16th or early 17th century on the basis of stylistic comparison with contemporary artifacts and textiles from Ottoman Turkey and Syria.","method_for_provenance":"The piece has been attributed to Ottoman Syria on the basis of stylistic comparison with contemporary artifacts and textiles from that region.","provenance":"Syria.","obtention":"Purchased from Axia Islamic and Byzantine Art, London, in 1983.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["arabesque","floral decoration","textile","tulip","vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Woven silk rendered in crimson and green with silver thread."]},"bfdbe8a5-e335-5014-a461-8cecc5b16445":{"name":"A complete cover for a Damascus *mahmal*, with the name of Sultan Mehmed IV","short_description":"The *mahmal* was a ceremonial palanquin that represented the authority of the Sultan over the Holy Places. The Mamluk sultan Baybars (r. 1260 – 1277) is reported to be the first to have sent a mahmal with the caravan of pilgrims from Cairo, and the custom was continued under Ottoman rule and almost without interruption until the early 20th century. This, the earliest of seven mahmal covers in the Khalili Collections, is an example of a second mahmal which left Damascus with the caravan of Syrian and Turkish pilgrims. The Egyptian and Syrian mahmals were occasionally joined by a third mahmal from the Yemen.  \n  \nThe embroidered Qur’anic verses are apposite: the text on the pyramid top is Qur’an, *sura* *al-Ahzab* (XXXIII), verse 56, which mentions the Prophet; the band around the lower part has al-Baqara (II) verse 127, which refers to Abrahim and Isma‘il raising the foundations of the House, that is, the Ka‘ba. At the very top, below the finial, is *sura* *al-Nahl* (XVI), verse 7: ‘And they carry your heavy loads to lands that you could not otherwise reach except with souls distressed’.","type":"Textile; *mahmal* cover; Damascus mahmal; ceremonial palanquin; wire embroidery; Mehmed IV","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Cover dated Hejira 1067 / AD 1656–7; finials are of a later date","location":"London","dimensions":"355 x 190 x 174 cm, as assembled","method_for_datation":"The *mahmal* cover is dated.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","bibliography":"Behrens-Abouseif, D., “The mahmal legend and the pilgrimage of the ladies of the Mamluk court”, *Mamluk Studies Review*, 1 (1997): 87–96.  \nPorter, V., “The Mahmal Revisited”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L., (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 195–205.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["banner","calligraphy","camel","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","Damascus","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mahmal","Mecca","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","Standard","textile","travel"],"materials":["Cover and finial banners of green silk, embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding","finials of gilded copper alloy are a of a later date"]},"c0c780b7-bc1e-5c06-ace4-ef7fefd9fa80":{"name":"Fragment of a [wall?] hanging","description":"This wool fragment from the Umayyad dynasty (AD 661–750) is adorned with a medallion depicting an eagle in shades of blue, green and yellow. The inside of the medallion’s dark-green border is dotted with 20 scrolls, while another series of scrolls topped by floral designs provides its outline. Geometric and plant motifs are visible in the corners. Ecru scrolls, topped in their case by red and orange flowers, figure on the main border, which has a brown ground. A wide band of ecru is enhanced by a rectangle with red, green and yellow geometric patterns. Here the floral designs consist of palmettes and rosettes. The depiction of medallions embellished with figures is derived from Persian silks; the decorative motifs within such medallions are characteristic of Sasanian decorative arts.","type":"Fragment of a [wall?] hanging","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"First half of 8th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"45cm x 23cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; Prudence Oliver Harper, *The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire*, exhib. cat., New York: Asia Society, 1978, cat. no. 62.","provenance":"Egypt, Sasanian period (AD 3rd–7th century)","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Mrs Paul Mallon, New York, in 1953, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Unpublished","dynasty":"Umayyad (AD 661–750)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["medallion","Persian tapestry","polychrome textile","textile","Umayyad textile"],"materials":["wool"]},"c0f8bfaf-f9ca-5ac0-84ba-67ebfcaf39e4":{"name":"Tablecloth (*dastarkhan*)","description":"A *dastarkhan* is a thin white *palas* (a kind of traditional, flat-woven carpet popular in Azerbaijan) that functioned as a tablecloth for Azerbaijanis and other Turkic peoples. The central field of Azerbaijani *dastarkhans* was rectangular, usually plain, and the borders spotted vivid decoration in contrast with the *dastarkhans* produced in Central Asia that boast elaborate designs. A *dastarkhan* denoted a sacred meaning, as its ornaments protected the food and the breadwinner and brought abundance to the family.  \nIn the central field of this artifact, there are inscriptions in the old epigraphic alphabet, stylized images of birds (symbolizing protection), butas (symbolizing different abilities bestowed on a person) and branches (symbolizing blessings). Images of arrows on the *dastarkhan's* border symbolize honour, prosperity and blessings.","type":"Tableware","holder":"Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum","dates":"Hegira 1305 / AD 1887","location":"Baku","dimensions":"Length: 188cm, width: 90cm","place_of_production":"Karabakh, Azerbaijan","method_for_datation":"By stylistic and comparative analyses with related material","obtention":"Purchased in 1984","author":"Rustam Afandiyev","keywords":["Azerbaijan","dastarkhan","flat-woven","tablecloth","wool"],"materials":["interweaved, wrapped.","Wool pattern yarn for the warp, cotton yarn for the weft"]},"c0fa2286-c49d-5054-a7e8-e9736fe3a90e":{"name":"Flag of a workers’ league bearing the sign","short_description":"This flag presumably belonged to a league of navvies, or labourers. It shows the tools used by workers employed in road construction, i.e. pickaxe and shovel.  \nStarting from the last decades of the XIX century, trade unionism flourished in Italy. In the 1890s, in many towns different unions started to reunite in general unions at a town level, known as Camere del Lavoro (labour unions, modelled on the French Bourse du Travail). In 1906 the Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (CGdL), a national confederation of trade unions, was founded.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"Unknown (probably immediately after World War I)","location":"Rome","dimensions":"132 x 147","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"c166cd2d-8939-540b-a898-6cea4e8dc0ae":{"name":"Brocaded velvet","short_description":"Figurative design flowered in Safavid textiles in the AH 10th century / AD mid-16th century. These figures often share the same features as book paintings from the period. This velvet is unique due to the large size of its figures, unknown on other velvets of the AH 10th century / AD 16th century, and the richness of surface textures. Uncut loops of metal-wrapped silk thread have been added in some areas to the traditional silk pile, contrasting with the glittering metal thread background.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 977-987 / AD 1570s","location":"Doha","dimensions":"Height: 164 cm, width: 70 cm","provenance":"Iran, Qazvin","obtention":"Sotheby's London,  Fine Oriental and European Rugs and Carpets, 14 Oct 1998, lot 37 to Qatar Museums","bibliography":"Al Khemir, Sabiha, *From Cordoba To Samarqand, Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha*, Milan: Musée du Louvre Editions, 2006.  \n  \nThompson, Jon, *Silk. 13th to 18th centuries. Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar*, Doha: National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, 2004.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Tara Desjardins","keywords":["Brocaded","Iran","Safawid","textile","Velvet"],"materials":["Silk, Metal Thread","weaving"]},"c23d10a7-1e62-576e-94be-aa1878e96194":{"name":"Cushion cover '*çatma yastık*'","short_description":"This is \"*çatma yastık yüzü*\" - a luxurious cushion cover of voided and brocaded velvet used to embellish salons of rich houses in the Ottoman Empire of the AD 16th–mid 18th centuries.  \nFor nearly 150 years the shape (rectangular, about 110cm x 60 cm) and the basic design of *çatma yastik* covers remained unchanged. The ornamented central field is flanked with two borders, each consisting of six arched cartouches filled with smaller floral motifs.  \nThe museum piece featuring large “*çintamani*” circles as a central motif was most likely produced in the period of the late 16th–first half of the 17th centuries. The high quality of silk, the deep crimson tone and the lavish application of silver wrapped thread (now partly lost) - all indicate that the cushion cover was made in Bursa, the key centre of the Ottoman silk weaving industry.","type":"Applied arts; Fabrics; Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD late 16th–first half of 17th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 104cm, Width: 63cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by H. Rudyk (publication, 2016, date, origin).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Bursa, Turkey","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalized by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, *İpek: Osmanlı Dokuma Sanatı*, Istanbul: TEB İletişim ve Yayıncılık, 2001.  \nPhillips, A., \"The historiography of Ottoman velvets, 2011-1572: scholars, craftsmen, consumers\", *Journal of Art Historiography*, 6 (2012).  \nRudyk, Hanna, \"Ottoman Collection in The Khanenko Museum\", *Chronicles-2000*, 1: 95 (2013): 479-495.  \nRudyk, Hanna, \"Cushion Cover\", *Art and Science*, (2016): 32–33.  \nRudyk, H., \"Islamic art in the Khanenko Museum collection\" in *Islamic art in the museums of Ukraine*, Proceedings of the Vyazmitina Research Seminar, 2017: 39-45.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["brocade","Bursa","metal thread","Ottoman","silk","textile","Turkey","Velvet"],"materials":["Silk, silver-wrapped thread, cotton","voided and brocaded velvet"]},"c27af56e-a4e0-51fb-a73b-60b44f2b7999":{"name":"Tomb cover.","description":"A section of red silk divided into ivory-coloured zigzag bands. These bands form a three-part repeat unit in which the main section is a wide band containing the Muslim profession of faith, the Shahada. Above this, a border band contains a verse from the Qur'an (2: 144) which concerns the *qibla*, or direction of prayer. Below, a pious invocation reads 'Praise God and glorify Him; praise God the mighty.' These repeat units are separated by bands in which finial-shaped pendants, facing alternately up and down, are arranged among circular medallions; these shapes contain rhyming invocations: 'O Benefactor (ya mannan)!' and 'O Compassionate (ya hannan)!' in the pendants, and 'O Praise (ya subhan)!' and 'O Authority (ya sultan)!' in the circles. Textiles like this one were made under the Ottomans to cover the cenotaphs of important individuals. Since the deceased is buried facing Mecca, the inclusion of the Qur'anic verse about the *qibla* has special significance. This particular type of tomb cover appears to have been woven in large quantities, as silks with an identical pattern can be found in collections all over the world.","short_description":"A section of red silk woven with zigzag bands containing several repeating inscriptions, among them Qur’anic verses and rhyming invocations of God. Many similar textiles were made under the Ottomans as tomb covers and as linings for the Ka’ba in Mecca.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk","holder":"Victoria and Albert Museum.","dates":"Hegira 12th / AD 18th century.","location":"London, England","dimensions":"Length 70 cm, width 68 cm.","method_for_datation":"In comparison with similar silks of the period.","method_for_provenance":"Assumption based on Istanbul's status as the capital.","provenance":"Possibly Istanbul.","obtention":"Gift of Dudley B. Myers, Esq., 1900.","bibliography":"Arts Council of Great Britain, *The Arts of Islam*, London, 1976, p.86, cat. no. 33.  \n  \nDenny, W., \"Textiles,\" *Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire* (ed. Y. Petsopoulos), London, 1982, p.138 and plate 160 (showing an identically patterned silk in a different collection).","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Barry Wood","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["funerary object","religious object"],"materials":["Woven silk."]},"c5abc7e0-07c7-53e5-b0b7-c0930bdd46e4":{"name":"Textiles","short_description":"These textiles are example of the early Mudéjar production after the defeat of the Nasrid kingdom. The influence of these textiles was great not only in the 16th century but also in the 19th century in the Alhambresque, Moorish and Neo-Mudéjar styles.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Early 16th century; 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"1729: 40 x 53 cm; 5727: 121 x 774,5 cm","provenance":"Granada?","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art","islamic influence","orientalism","collectionism"],"materials":["Silk; lampas weave"]},"c791fd67-b769-5838-8662-48cd1f3c7839":{"name":"*Mafrash* (Bedding Bag) End Panel","description":"Certain textiles from Anatolia, covers and containers made by nomads, semi-nomads and villagers for their own use known as the Caucasus and Iran, first came to the attention of consumers in Europe, in the final third of the 19th century. Although the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts purchased its first nomad and village flat-woven textiles at the turn of the 19th/20th century, this carpet was a donation by Prof. Ottó Fettick (1946, followed by his bequest in 1954) that laid the real foundations of the Museum's woven carpet collection. The 104 items included textiles of a kind that were new to the Museum: 19th-century woven Caucasian and North Iranian soumak, palas, verneh and jajim rugs, containers and covers, and Anatolian, Iranian and Balkan kilims. Professor Fettick (1875–1954) was a veterinary surgeon, bacteriologist and art collector and probably started building his collection of 19th-century flat-woven nomad carpets and other textiles in the early 20th century. The end panel of a Shahsevan *mafrash* (bedding bag) presumably from the Moghan-Savalan region is from the Fettick collection. Its ornament is comprised of three broad horizontal bands. The dark brown central band has offset rows of hooked hexagons; one row in alternating colours between two rows of white half hexagons. The upper and lower secondary broad bands contain right-facing peacocks standing in line on a yellow ground, each with a stylized \"cock\" motif on its back.  \n  \nOriginally the side panel selvedges were sewn together with a blue and brown rope-like overcasting which remained on three edges of the end panel when the *mafrash* was taken apart. The cut edge of the long side panel is visible on the lower third of the left side under the frayed overcasting.  \n  \nThere is a *mafrash* end panel of almost identical pattern in the Charles Grant Ellis Collection.","type":"Mafrash (bedding bag) end panel","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Third quarter of 19th century","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 43cm, Width: 52cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"South east Caucasus, Moghan–Savalan region (present day Iran Azerbaijan border)","obtention":"Bequest of Dr. Ottó Fettick, 1954","bibliography":"Gombos, Károly, Kaukasische Webteppiche/Caucasian Flat-woven Rugs, *Ars Decorativa*, 6 (1979): 171, figure 9.  \nGombos, Károly, *Régi szövött keleti szőnyegek és hímzések / Altorientalische Webteppiche und Stickerei/Early Oriental Woven Rugs and Embroideries*, Sárvár: Sárvár Nádasdy Ferenc Múzeum/Catalogues of Museums in Vas County, 1980 (Vas megyei Múzeumok katalógusai 66. / Kataloge der Museen des Komitats Vas 66.): 17, no. 29 and figure 9a.  \nLandreau, A. N., and Pickering, W. R., *From the Bosporus to Samarkand: Flat-Woven Rugs*, Washington D. C.: The Textile Museum, 1969: 68, fig. 66.","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","translator":"Alan Campbell","keywords":["cotton","Mafrash","Shahsevan","soumak","Weft wrapping","wool"],"materials":["Extra-weft wrapping: plain soumak","Warp: wool","Weft: Wool and undyed cotton"]},"c88cfa39-a575-5369-b26b-986d4b8b0529":{"name":"Two embroidered tent panels","short_description":"The panels were apparently used to cover the entrance of a Persian tent made in the Caspian city of Rasht, famous for its embroideries. The lush composition, laid out symmetrically along the central axis of the entrance, recalls the designs of the so-called ‘meditation rugs’. It includes, at the centre of a large polylobed arch, the crown of a cypress tree, and, at the foot of the tree, on both sides, a lion holding a sword – symbol of ‘Ali, and a peacock – symbol of paradise. The panels feature an allover design of floral motifs and birds embroidered in chain stitch. An outer border embroidered with *boteh* (paisley) motifs on a red ground encloses the panels on three sides.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 380cm, Width: 290cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis, technique","provenance":"Rasht, Iran","obtention":"Part of the collection donated by  Gheorghe Răut to the Romanian State in the late 1960s.","bibliography":"Baker, P.L., *Islamic Textiles*, London: British Museum Press, 1995.  \nUngureanu, C. (ed), *Anatomia restaurării. Opere de artă din patrimoniul MNAR*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2016: 204-205, cat. no. 70.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["embroidery"],"materials":["patchwork, embroidery","Wool, silk, cotton, metal hooks and eyes"]},"c9d0b510-47ac-5728-867e-795e3dd48169":{"name":"Cushion cover","short_description":"This fragment shows an elegant composition with stylised tulips.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 61 cm, length 121 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["fabric","floral motifs","Ottoman textiles","textile","tulip","Velvet"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"c9e57bf4-504f-5953-928e-e4f5dacd9861":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen and silk.","description":"A woven linen and silk slit-tapestry fragment in cream, golden yellow, crimson and blue. The design consists of three superposed bands, the uppermost and the lowest identical in appearance. The design is tripartite, with two bands of *naskhi* script rendered in red on a gold background, and flanking a gold-coloured central guilloche band outlined in red with gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs in the centre of every loop. Narrow stripes with wavy patterning complete the pattern. The inscriptions in the epigraphic panels read: *‘… wa al-iqbal’* (‘… and prosperity’). In between these two bands is a broader panel with a complex, gathered linear interlaced design in gold and red which employs individual gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs set against a red ground.","short_description":"Fatimid Egypt was famous for the production of sophisticated silk textiles produced in court-sponsored workshops known as ‘*tiraz*’ workshops. Most were fashioned into royal garments for the sultan and his court or robes of honour to be bestowed on worthy courtiers, dignitaries or foreign diplomats.","type":"Fatimid textile woven linen and silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 570–96 / AD third quarter of the 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 24 cm, width 9 cm.","method_for_datation":"The decorative style of this textile fragment places it within the category of very late Fatimid textiles, characterized by the exclusive use of golden yellow and red, together with the complexity of the interlace designs which covers the central band completely. The inscription in *naskhi* script also helps to place the production of this piece within the reign of the last Fatimid rulers. Furthermore this item has been dated on the basis of its striking similarity to a linen and silk fragment in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva, which is dated 570–96 / third quarter of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"Purchased by the NMS in 1979 from Spink and Son Ltd, London.","bibliography":"*Tissus d’Egypte: Témoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe – Xve siècles,* Geneva / Paris 1993, p.259, cat. no. 158 (for discussion of similar piece).  \nKendrick, A. F., *Catalogue of Muhammadan Textiles of the Medieval Period,* London 1924, p.18, cat. no. 887, plate iv (for a very similar piece).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Fatimid textiles","linen","naskhi script","silk","textile","workshop"],"materials":["Woven linen and silk."]},"cb646540-71b4-53fd-9b5d-065a402f6c3b":{"name":"'Hortus Conclusus' church tapestry","description":"In our time, people who want to improve their logic skills might do a Sudoku while commuting on the urban railway. In medieval times, people would spend their time decoding the immense iconographic programme of the Catholic Church, which included not only Biblical figures and saints, but also legendary creatures with no religious connotations. The creator of the “Enclosed Garden” that can be seen on a precious tapestry from the chapel of Ried in what is today the canton of Schwyz drew on the early Christian natural history treatise known as the Physiologus, which states that a unicorn can only be captured by a virgin. From a Christian viewpoint, the virgin is Mary and her touching the unicorn’s horn is an allusion to the immaculate conception. Interpreting this scene correctly was tricky, but within the capabilities of medieval churchgoers. In contrast, they were less adept at understanding written letters and numbers.","type":"Tapestry","holder":"Swiss National Museum","owner":"Swiss Confederation","dates":"AD 1480","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"H: 104cm, W: 380cm","method_for_datation":"Year of production woven into the tapestry","provenance":"Basel, Switzerland","obtention":"Bought in 1896","keywords":["Chapel im Ried","Hortus conclusus","Schwyz","Tapestry: Riddle"],"materials":["Tapestry, weft: wool, silk, gold and silver lamella, warp: linen"]},"cba9697e-4726-5cc0-9a64-80be790a931d":{"name":"Fragment of an interior Kiswa Cover for the Ka'ba in Makkah","short_description":"For four hundred years, the Ottomans sent money and gifts to Makkah and Medina with the Surre procession. The gifts included covers for the Ka’ba, made in Cairo and Istanbul, which were replaced every year. Old covers were returned to the palace in Istanbul, distributed to the faithful or sometimes reused.Textiles like this one were made in Istanbul and Bursa from the 10th century H/ 16th century to the early 14th century H/ 20th century. Woven in red and beige silk, they were intended for draping either the inner walls of the Ka’bah in Makkah or those of the Tomb of the Prophet in Madina. Their zig-zag design echoes that of the main kiswa but the religious inscriptions vary according to the textiles’ intended use. Here, the combination of texts with their emphasis on the Prophet suggests that this fragment was part of a hanging intended for the Prophet’s tomb chamber, which also houses the cenotaphs of his first two successors, the caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al Khattab.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation / Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira late 12th – early 13th century / AD late 18th – early 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Length 655 mm, width 380 mm","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["Ka'bah","kiswa"],"materials":["Lampas woven, red and beige silk"]},"ce91431e-97e8-5a65-8d88-f4d8be6111e9":{"name":"Inscribed textile or *tiraz*","short_description":"The large linen fragment has two lines of inscriptions running in opposite directions and woven in dark blue silk thread. The content of the text, in the *kufic* script, follows the typical form for *tiraz* textiles conveying good wishes to the caliph Nizar Abu al-Mansur al-imam al-Aziz and states that it was woven in the royal *tiraz* workshop of Tinnis in the year 3(7)5.","type":"Textile, tiraz, silk, linen","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 375 / AD 985-86","location":"Athens","dimensions":"164 X 40","provenance":"Egypt, Tinnis","dynasty":"Fatimid","keywords":["Fatimid textiles","Fragment","kufic","linen","royal manufacture","silk","textile","tiraz","workshop"],"materials":["Linen and silk"]},"d0d2ab0e-7d90-5e08-89b9-cfab8bae0d85":{"name":"Section from the *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"The pattern consists of zigzag bands alternately enclosing the *shahada* (‘There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God’) and the invocation ‘O! God, May his Majesty be exalted’, the latter in mirrored script. It is possible that the calligraphy was designed by the master calligrapher, ‘Abdallah Zuhdi, who was known as *katib al-haramayn* (‘the calligrapher of the two holy sanctuaries’).  \nEgypt had been supplying the *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba on a yearly basis, and almost without interruption, since Fatimid times. Since the early 1970s, however, the *kiswa* has been woven in a special workshop in Mecca.","type":"Textile; woven textile; *kiswa*; lampas; silk","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Late 19th or early 20th century","location":"London","dimensions":"158 x 89cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on stylistic grounds.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo","bibliography":"Porter, V. (ed.), *Hajj. Journey to the Heart of Islam*, London: British Museum, 2013: 258.  \nTezcan, H., “Ka‘ba covers from the Topkapı Palace collection and their inscriptions”, in Suleman, F. (ed.), *Word of God, Art of Man. The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions*, Oxford, 2010: 227–38.  \nVernoit, S., *Occidentalism. Islamic Art in the 19th Century*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, vol. 23, 1997: cat.8, pp.26–7.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Silk lampas, with satin ground and tabby pattern"]},"d0d6c9d5-6ebd-5af5-9fa7-3367e09d88aa":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Ahmed I","short_description":"In her study of the Ka‘ba door curtains in the Topkapı Sarayı, Hülya Tezcan has identified four main styles. The earliest is that of a curtain bearing the name of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and the date AH 950 / AD 1543–4. The second style, to which this curtain belongs, apepars to have been popular for a long period, as known examples date from the late 16th to the late 18th century.  \n  \nCharacteristic features of this style include the five arches at the top, as well as the zigzag panels and the reciprocal ogival cartouches at the bottom. The commisioning order and date are in the two panels immediately above the latter. This curtain was commisioned and presented to the Ka‘ba by Sultan Ahmed I.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba door curtain; *sitara*; *burqu‘*; *burda*; *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1015 / AD 1606","location":"London","dimensions":"499 x 271cm","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Black silk, with red, beige and green silk appliqués, relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"d1baf7da-b838-5564-a184-03f1f16c1457":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A fragment with two superposed decorative bands separated from each other by an area of plain weave. Both bands are identical in design: guilloches rendered in a yellowish gold colour, set against a blue background. The central areas of the guilloche’s loops have light-coloured palmette-leaves in them, which are set against either a red or black background. The guilloche band of is flanked above and below by two red stripes, each containing a light-coloured *kufic* inscription enhanced by regularly disposed, gold-coloured scrolling motifs; the outer borders of these are formed by a system of interlocking wave-like designs. The inscription has been deciphered as: ‘victory comes from God’. Akhmim in Egypt lies on the east bank of the River Nile. The linen-weaving industry was an important one there, and textiles and handicrafts are still produced in Akhmim today.","short_description":"Many Fatimid and Mamluk textiles have been found in burials around Akhmim, an important Egyptian textile centre with a famous linen-weaving industry. Interestingly, the history of Akhmim is closely linked with that of the Coptic community in Egypt and retains a sizeable Coptic population to this day.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen and silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira, late 5th–early 6th century / AD 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height: 16 cm, width: 19 cm.","method_for_datation":"A fragment in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva bears a close stylistic resemblance with this piece and it has been dated to the late 5th–early 6th / first half of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"The item was found in Akhmim, Egypt and belongs to a group of well-defined Fatimid textiles.","provenance":"Akhmim, Egypt.","obtention":"Bought from the Hilton-Price Collection, 1911.","bibliography":"*Tissus d'Egypte: Temoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe - XVe siecles*, Collection Bouvier, Geneva, Geneva / Paris, 1993, pp.244–5, cat. no. 146 (for a similar fragment).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Akhmim","Coptic","Fatmid textiles","kufic script","linen","silk","textile","workshop"],"materials":["Woven linen and silk."]},"d1d438f0-83d2-5fda-b51d-574d3965aaa9":{"name":"Silk textile with geometric pattern.","description":"A silk textile with a lampas weave, satin ground and weft-faced tabby pattern. Yellow strap-work bands on a red background create a dazzling geometric interlace design in which eight-pointed stars figure prominently. Other colours, such as pink, green, and a silvery blue, are used to create contrasts and highlights. Textiles like this one were made in the Nasrid period in southern Spain and North Africa. They continued to be valued throughout Europe long after the fall of the Nasrid dynasty; this particular example was hanging behind a statue of the Virgin Mary in Florence, Italy as late as the 19th century.","short_description":"A silk textile woven with an elaborate geometric pattern based on eight-pointed stars. Textiles like this were woven in southern Spain and North Africa during the Nasrid period. This example may have served as a hanging to enliven an architectural setting.","type":"Woven silk textile","holder":"Victoria and Albert Museum.","dates":"Hegira 8th–9th / AD 14th–15th century.","location":"London, England","dimensions":"Length 56 cm, width 47.5 cm.","method_for_datation":"Comparison with other Spanish and North African textiles.","method_for_provenance":"The Nasrids ruled in Spain.","provenance":"Spain.","obtention":"Received from Dr Bock in 1864.","bibliography":"Arts Council of Great Britain, The Arts of Islam, London, 1976, p.81, cat. no. 18.","dynasty":"Nasrid","author":"Barry Wood","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["geometric decoration"],"materials":["Woven silk textile."]},"d3cbf39d-5c09-5ef2-9a4f-78a92ddbb910":{"name":"Ikat hanging","short_description":"The decoration of this wall hanging has been achieved through the ikat technique, and depicts one of the most popular décors of the Qajar period: cypresses in a niche. Further to this, in this particular example another popular motif, the peacock, has been added to the tips of the small cypresses. Comparable wall hangings made of silk ikat have survived mainly from Yazd, hence its likely provenance.  \n  \nIkat weavings appeared sporadically in Iran as early as the 17th and 18th centuries, but remained the great exception. In the 19th century, especially in the second half, ikat weaving flourished, experiencing a period of artistic development. During this period, the ever increasing imports of cheap European machine-made goods posed enormous problems for local textile manufacturers. However, the ikat weavers were able to successfully hold their own against the competition.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Hermann and Annette Landolt-Tüller","dates":"Hegira 1290-1320 / AD 1875-1900","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 197cm, Width: 122.5cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with stylistically similar objects","provenance":"Iran, Yazd","obtention":"Acquisition with funds from the Rietberg Kreis","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschoff, Marie-Louise and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen. Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: esp. 104-109.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Warp ikat, silk, lining: European printed cotton"]},"d3d8bfb4-1256-5d86-8c10-b8ebf4e3177c":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The ground material of this square cloth is made of white silk. A broad border encloses the middle area, which is embroidered with small single flowers. The border shows a corner design of large flowers emerging from a vase and tendrils along the sides. The blossoms and leaves are executed in gradated shades of different-coloured silk.","short_description":"Embroidery on a ground of white silk. In the middle the square cloth is embroidered with single flowers. The border shows large flowers emerging from a vase.","type":"Silk, gold, embroidery","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities (Historiska Museet).","owner":"Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","initial_owner":"Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","dates":"Around Hegira 1132–42 / AD  1720–30.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 88 cm, width 88 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, 182–4.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, 83–5, cat. no. 153, plate 78.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["embroidery","floral decoration","Textiles"],"materials":["embroidery.","Silk, gold thread"]},"d3ddaba2-605a-593a-84dc-d55cd6a60174":{"name":"Pearl Diver’s Finger Protectors","short_description":"These finger guards are known as khabt (pl. khabta). They were an essential part of a pearl-diver's equipment, as they protected his finger tips from the sharp oyster shells and other unexpected dangerous objects the pearl-diver might brush his fingers against while searching the murky seabed. Much of his work had to rely on touch, as visibility was minimal and few dangers could be anticipated by sight alone. When not used, the finger guards were kept in a container filled with water to keep them supple.","type":"15 leather finger protectors with cotton bag","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"The finger protectors length around 40 mm, width c. 20 mm; the bag c. 250 x 200 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["khabt","khabta"],"materials":["Leather and cotton"]},"d5063c4c-2fb6-5145-80ab-45cf9cbda6d3":{"name":"Section from the *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb","short_description":"This section from a *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb belongs to a small group of fragments in which the finely calligraphed *thuluth* inscriptions are woven in silver-wrapped silk thread on a deep raspberry-pink ground. Selin Ipek has suggested that, given the amount of silver used in its weaving, the *kiswa* from which they come must have been a special commission.  \n  \nThe vertical repeat consists of four wide zigzag bands alternating with four narrower ones; there are two horizontal repeats per loom width. The first wide band at the top of the textile has a supplication to God for blessings and peace upon Prophet. In the narrow band below that is *sura al-Ikhlas* (CXII), followed by the *shahada* in the wide band. Next is *sura al-Ahzab* (XXXIII), verse 56. The third wide band has *Allahu wala siwahu* (‘God and there is none equal to Him’), with a small flower under each of the words, Allah. Inscribed in the last narrow band in the repeat is *sura al-Qasas* (XXVIII), end of verse 88.","type":"Textile; *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb; silk; lampas; silver thread","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"AD 18th century","location":"London","dimensions":"188 x 62cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date based on a study by Selin Ipek.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","obtention":"Acquired Sotheby’s, London, sale of 22 April 2015, lot 47.","bibliography":"Ipek, S., “Ottoman Ravza-i Mutahhara Covers Sent from Istanbul to Medina with the Surre Processions”, *Muqarnas*, vol. 23 (2006): 289–316, especially p.305 and figure 23.","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Silk lampas with silver thread"]},"d588c3c2-379b-534f-8feb-9c9bc83a8d5c":{"name":"Two sections from a tomb cover","short_description":"The calligraphic design on each of these two sections consists of an eight-fold repeat of Qur’an, *sura* *al-Fath*, XLVIII, verse 1: *inna fatahna laka fathan mubinan*. The letters have been manipulated to create the semblance of a cartouche in which the words *inna fatahna* and *laka fathan* – which are similar in form – have been arranged at either end to suggest a mirror image around the word *mubinan* in the centre.  \nA similar textile in the Musée Historique des Tissus, Lyon, France, bears the date AH 1123 (AD 1711–12).","type":"Textile; silk; weft-faced; tomb cover","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"Early 18th century","location":"London","dimensions":"40 x 35cm; 39 x 35cm","method_for_datation":"Date is based on comparison with a dated piece; provenance based on technical grounds.","provenance":"Iran","bibliography":"Piotrovsky, M.B., and Vrieze, J. (eds), *Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art. Art of Islam*, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam & London 1999: no.181, p.210.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Iran","Qur’an","Safavid","silk","textile"],"materials":["Silk, of weft-faced compound plain (tabby) weave"]},"d5ef573d-2a05-5d47-a3e9-ad45caf58169":{"name":"Flag of the St Petersburg Colony of Macedonians","short_description":"This flag was the symbol of the St. Petersburg Colony of Macedonians, a group of Macedonian intellectuals who lived and worked in St. Petersburg and shared the same ideas and interests – working for the liberation and recognition of Macedonia. The red colour of the flag symbolizes the blood shed in the centuries-long Macedonian struggle for autonomy. The white rectangle in the upper left corner bears a depiction of a unicorn, also in red colour.","type":"Insignia","holder":"Museum of Macedonia","dates":"1913","location":"Skopje","author":"Nada Andonovska (author), Dragan Georgiev, historian (consultant)","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["Autonomy","liberation","recognition"],"materials":["Textile fabric"]},"d7096975-0651-52ea-8630-a12bafecd7a2":{"name":"Fragment of a shawl","short_description":"This black-blue fragment of shawl is decorated with tapestry bands woven with *kufic* inscriptions and highly stylized human figures, quadrupeds and birds. The overall stylization is reminiscent of Coptic textiles but is typical of the Fayyum area in Upper Egypt, which is attested by Muslim writers as specializing in the weaving of woollen fabrics.","type":"Textile, shawl, wool","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 3rd-4th century / AD 9th-10th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 74 cm  \nWidth 91.5 cm","provenance":"Egypt","dynasty":"Fatimid","keywords":["animal decoration","bird","Coptic","costume","Fatimid textiles","Fragment","human representation","kufic","Shawl","textile","wool"],"materials":["Wool and Linen"]},"e02118f9-dc4c-59ac-97f3-1e1641712dd1":{"name":"Fragmentary loom width with wavy-vine pattern","short_description":"Spectacular silks with large scale patterns were favoured materials for luxury garments among the courtly elite of sixteenth-century Istanbul and were often used for the bold, richly coloured kaftans of the Ottoman sultans. In this example, the vertical pattern of foliage is stylistically similar to that of the ceramic wall tiles in buildings of the period. The weave, referred to in Turkish as *kemha*, incorporates metal-wrapped thread into a lampas, or multiweave fabric. Ottoman *kemha* fabrics typically combine a satin ground with a woven twill design highlighted with gold. Their glittering patterns catch the light and appear to float above a shimmering background.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira c. 672–87 / AD c. 1565–80","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 121.9cm, W: 67.3cm; Mount: L: 135.3cm, W: 81.3cm, D: 2.5cm","provenance":"Probably Istanbul, Turkey","obtention":"Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952  \nVendor: Estate of Dikran G. Kelekian, New York  \nFormer owner: Dikran G. Kelekian, New York (by 1926–d. 1951; his estate, New York, 1951–52)","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, Denny, Walter B., Mackie, Louise W., Tezcan, Hulya, Raby, Julian (ed) and Effeny, Alison (ed), *IPEK: imperial Ottoman silks and velvets*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2001: 89, 206, 220, 282–83, ill. pl. 42 (colour), figs. Aii (b/w), 127 (colour), 242 (b/w).  \nAtil, Esin, *The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent*, Washington DC: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987: no. 147, 212-213, ill. pl. 147 (colour).  \nAtil, Esin (ed), *Turkish Art*, Washington D.C/New York: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980: 354-355, ill. fig. 206 (b/w).  \nCampbell, Thomas P. (ed), *The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012: 138, ill. (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 287, 320-321, no. 228, ill. 320-1 (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 33/1 (Spring 1975): 36, ill. (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard (ed), *The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York*, Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, 1981: 266-267, no. 113, ill. 267 (colour).  \nde Montebello, Philippe and Howard, Kathleen (ed), *The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 327, ill. fig. 36 (colour).  \nPope, Arthur Upham, \"Special Persian Exhibition\", *Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum*, XXII/107 (November 1926): 245-251.  \nWelch, Stuart Cary, *The Islamic World. Vol. 11*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987: 118, no. 88, ill. fig. 88 (colour).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952","keywords":["Anatolia","caftan","cloth","Clothing","floral decoration","floral motifs","floriated","foliated","garment","Istanbul","kemha","lampas","Ottoman","Ottoman Silk","Ottoman textile","saz leaf","Saz style","silk","textile","Turkey","vegetal decoration","vegetal motifs"],"materials":["lampas (kemha)","Silk, metal wrapped thread"]},"e2301ec1-c5b6-5d83-a402-0bf32d43fab0":{"name":"Section from the belt of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"The *hizam* (‘belt’) is an inscribed band that encircles the upper part of the Ka‘ba. During the Ottoman period, it was made up of eight sections – two on each wall – and this section would have been on the south side. It is embroidered with *sura al-‘Imran* (III), verses 95–97. The text refers to ‘the religion of Abraham’; ‘the first house of worship that was in Mecca’; and ‘the Station of Abraham’.  \nThe *kiswa* and its various components had been supplied yearly, and with very few exceptions, since Fatimid times. An incident at Mina during the Hajj of 1926 led to a break in the relation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. As the season of Hajj approached the following year, and with no *kiswa* arriving from Egypt, King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Saud ordered one to be made in haste at Dar al-Kiswa in Mecca. Due to the shortness of time, the *hizam*, of which this is a section, had to be machine-embroidered.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba belt; *hizam*; *kiswa*; gold thread embroidery; silver thread embroidery; machine embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Hejira 1345 / AD 1927","location":"London","dimensions":"590 x 90cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on historical records.","provenance":"Saudi Arabia, Mecca","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005): 336–9.","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Minbar","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Black silk with pale green silk appliqués","machine-embroidered in gold and silver thread and strips of flattened gold and silver wire, over cotton thread padding"]},"e4957137-fe26-5b45-a98b-c7918535c481":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"Textiles constitute a major part of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ collection of Islamic art. The decorative arts had great symbolic and social importance in the Islamic world. The skills of the weavers of the time have rarely been equalled, and this fragment is among the pieces that demonstrate the complexity and innovation of their techniques. Figurative designs, which were extremely popular in 16th-century Persia, appeared on garments and palace furnishings, as well as in religious and funeral ceremonies. In this fragment of reversible double cloth depicting “Boats at Sea”, two fabrics have been produced simultaneously, one over the other, following a repeat pattern of remarkable detail: sailing boats with four sailors alternating with simple rowing boats carrying three figures, all on a sea filled with fish and ducks. The vertical masts create the impression of stability, while the diagonal placement of the rowing boats suggests a rocking motion. The red motifs lay on a silver-thread ground.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"Late 16th–early 17th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"15.8cm x 14.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; *Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art*, London: Royal Academy, 1931, cat. no. 301a.","provenance":"Iran, Yazd","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, in 1949, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Salam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 61.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1–2 (1992): 19–29, 26, fig. 5.  \n*The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Guide*, 1960: 23.  \n*The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Guide*, 2007: 42.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["double cloth","Persian textile","Safawid textile","silk fabric"],"materials":["Silk, silver thread, double cloth"]},"e5229f07-7f0c-5c3d-b332-abfb11f167a3":{"name":"Fragmentary silk velvet with repeating tiger-stripe and *çintamani* design","short_description":"This early example of *çintamani* silk velvet incorporates the triangular formation of three circles alternating with two wavy bands. This pattern, whose name is derived from a Sanskit term meaning “auspicious jewel”, appears on Ottoman textiles, carpets, and ceramics  \nThe pile in luxurious textiles like this one is created by the warp threads, which are looped during the weaving process and then sheared to create a plush surface. Polychromatic designs were formed by alternating two or more warps in contrasting colours, and brocaded with metal-wrapped weft threads creating the \"voided\" ground in the design.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira second half of the 9th–early 10th century / AD second half of the 15th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 74.9cm, W: 71.1cm; Mount: H: 80cm, W: 78cm","provenance":"Bursa, Turkey","obtention":"Rogers Fund, 1908  \nVendor: Dikran G. Kelekian, New York  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, until 1908; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, Denny, Walter B., Mackie, Louise W., Tezcan, Hulya, Raby, Julian (ed) and Effeny, Alison (ed), *IPEK: imperial Ottoman silks and velvets*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2001: 298–99, ill. fig. 287 (b/w).  \nDenny, Walter B., *How to Read Islamic Carpets*, New Haven/London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014: 123, ill. fig. 109 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 324-325, no. 230, ill. 324 (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 33/1 (Spring 1975): ill. 43 (b/w).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1908","keywords":["Anatolia","brocade","Bursa","chintamani","Fragment","Ottoman","Ottoman textile","silk","textile","textile fragment","Turkey","Velvet"],"materials":["cut and voided velvet (çatma), brocaded","Silk, metal wrapped thread"]},"e6f5f348-ba35-50e4-9c8e-f3ed312366b0":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"An embroidery comprising rows of stylised red tulips and blue palmette heads, arranged in ascending order, alternating each other on undulating black stems and detailed with pink-peach and three shades of green. Being a highly sophisticated piece, this embroidery shows a crisp, well-executed drawing technique and vigorous movement and elasticity in its design. Many such types of embroidery were influenced by the brocades and velvets that were designed and made for the Ottoman court; these include a well-defined group of brocades with undulating stems, which must have influenced the layout of this embroidery.","short_description":"Many such Turkish Ottoman embroideries were influenced by the brocades and velvets that were designed and made for the Ottoman court; these include a well-defined group with undulating stems, which must have influenced the layout of this one, with its fantastic tulip and palmette heads.","type":"Ottoman textile, cotton","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 228 cm, width 121 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the depiction of Tulips in this style is typical of Turkish Ottoman art. These Tulips appear on nearly all types of materials, including ceramics, miniature paintings, and a variety of woven fabrics as well as embroideries, from the 10th / 16th century onwards.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchased by Sir William Burrell's Trust.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["court life","floral decoration"],"materials":["Cotton fabric embroidered with coloured silks."]},"e7508121-a91c-5383-838a-6de746e60caa":{"name":"Four textile fragments with rows of pelicans and cattle","short_description":"The reciprocal relations between China and Europe are reflected in mobile artefacts of the Late Middle Ages, such as textiles. During its greatest expansion, the Mongolian Empire stretched from China to Baghdad. This meant that a mixture of eastern and western pictorial traditions held sway in the Mongolian textile workshops, which makes localisation of textile artefacts difficult. On these dark-blue fragments we see influences from Chinese art in the flowers and animals.","type":"Iranian textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Mid-14th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 43cm, W: 18cm","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Bock, Franz, *Katalog der ehemaligen Bock'schen Sammlung von Webereien und Stickereien des Mittelalters und der Renaissance*, (Jetzt Eigenthum des k. k. Oesterreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie), Vienna: Gerold, 1865.","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-118209","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["animal decoration","China","Chinese influence","dark-blue","floral decoration","Iran","silk","textile"],"materials":["lampas lancé","Silk, gold lamella"]},"e8eaafdf-a77c-51a2-8c54-e52092c06b0b":{"name":"Calligraphic *Limar* Cloth","short_description":"Silk *limar* cloth; predominantly blue & red. White calligraphic pattern on blue ground on the central compartment & stylised motif of bamboo shoots (*pucuk rebung*) & geometric patterns on red ground (*punca kain*) at each end of the *sarong*. Identifiable words: '*La Ilaha Il Allah*' - There is no God but Allah & *Muhammadur Rasul* (Allah) - Prophet Muhammad is His Messenger. Calligraphic pattern suggests it was not worn as a garment. Perhaps utilised in ceremonial practice such as coffin cover etc.  \n  \nClick [here](< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY>) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"220 x 73cm","provenance":"Terengganu, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 54.","dynasty":"Terengganu Sultanate","materials":["Twill Woven Silk Limar Long Cloth"]},"e940cbd1-48de-5b83-bc81-a8186f6e2bca":{"name":"Saddle Cover with Design of Floral and Vegetal Motifs","short_description":"A rectangular saddle cover with *herati* pattern in the spandrels. The main blue field has a niche-like compartment with an opening for the saddle, which is bordered by a band in yellow and red with guard lines in white, yellow, blue, and red. The spandrel has a floral pattern of lanceolate leaves, palmettes, and rosettes in white, yellow, blue, red, green, and black on an orange-red ground. The border consists of three bands of floral motives in yellow, blue, and red on a blue ground (central band) and yellow ground (inner and outer bands).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 167.6cm x Width: 86.4cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Iran, Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Asia","cotton","Cover","Iran","Persian","Saddle","textile","wool"],"materials":["Wool, cotton"]},"e99ae084-468e-510d-90bc-109658d66887":{"name":"Sarma woman's dress","description":"Example of sarma, an Ottoman metallic-thread embroidery technique, spread across the Levant during Ottoman rule as urban communities adopted and embraced the style as part of elite and festive dress. Characterised by intricate gold and silver threadwork, sarma became particularly associated with urban centres such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Damascus, where members of the social elite wore richly embellished garments on ceremonial and festive occasions.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 140 cm; width: 150 cm","place_of_production":"Jerusalem","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["ceremony","dress","embroidery","festivities","metal"],"materials":["Velvet, metal"]},"eb5b519d-c67d-5a80-8e09-395571ae29b1":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The nearly square textile with fringed ribbon shows all-over silver and gold embroidery. In spite of its complexity and density, the structure of the symmetrically composed design is evident. In the middle appears a *tughra*, the monogram of the Ottoman sultans, surrounded by four slightly curved flower sprays forming a small circle. The remaining area is dedicated to a motif repeated in the four corners. This motif shows a rococo-inspired basket edged with and flanked by scrolled leafy sprays on a small console and with a bouquet in it. Worked in a metal thread of a different hue, the pairs of birds beside the bouquets and all the large and small blossoms and flower sprays filling the area between are arranged in a circle.  \nTo judge from the perfect composition of the design and the high technical quality it is professional embroidery by an urban workshop. But there is another clue too. This design composed of a small inner circle formed by the *tughra* and a large outer circle suggests that the textile was used as a turban cover. To keep dust off a turban a special, always square, cover was introduced indicating its particular purpose by a circle set in the middle. However, this cover differs from the usual scheme of an inner circle design repeated in the outer one because of its manufacture for Palace use. Pieces showing a *tughra* on them were primarily made for the Palace. The *tughra* in this embroidery has been simplified and distorted, but it might be that of Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz (Abdülaziz in Turkish).","short_description":"Nearly square textile with fringed ribbon and all-over silver and gold embroidery. In the middle appears a *tughra*, the monogram of the Ottoman sultans. The composition of the design with a smaller inner and a larger outer circle suggests the textile was used as a turban cover.","type":"Textile, Wool","holder":"Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet).","initial_owner":"Possibly Sultan ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (r. AH 1277–93 / AD 1861–76).","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 78.5 cm, width 81.5 cm.","method_for_datation":"The textile shows the influence of European rococo in design, which increased on urban embroidery at the beginning of the 13th / 19th century. The *tughra* in this embroidery, although simplified and distorted, might be that of Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz ((r. 1277–93 / 1861–76). However, one should note that all *tughras* of the sultans in the 13th / 19th century show similar features.","method_for_provenance":"The design and the *tughra* show that it is a Turkish embroidery. Embroideries of the professional workshops of Istanbul and Bursa were of high technical quality as seen in this fabric. Their patterns are characterised by fine gradation in colour and influenced by European rococo.","provenance":"Turkey, possibly Istanbul or Bursa.","obtention":"There is no information about acquisition.","bibliography":"Johnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1985.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.  \nTher, U., *Floral Messages: From Ottoman Court Embroideries to Anatolian Trousseau Chests*, Bremen, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["embroidery","floral decoration","textile","writing"],"materials":["embroidered.","Wool, silk, metal thread, cotton"]},"ee26487e-5cf4-5952-b08b-0f2364696f96":{"name":"Ottoman pillow cover","short_description":"Bursa, located to the south of Istanbul, was the centre of silk velvet weaving from the 15th to the 17th century. Locally produced silk velvet textiles stitched with gold and silver threads were also popular in Europe. When the Austrian Commercial Museum mounted the first international exhibition of oriental carpets in 1891, historic silk velvet brocades from Bursa were amongst the most important objects displayed. Wealthy Ottomans had a particular liking for pillow covers (*yastık*) of silk velour (*çatma*). This Ottoman pillow cover shows cartouches with alternating inverted Persian lettering: *mobarak bad* (good luck), *sa‘adat bad* (prosperity).","type":"Household item","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 16th/ early 17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 122.5cm, W: 61.5cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Turkey, prob. Bursa","obtention":"At the turn of the 19th century, parts of the inventory of collections of the Austrian Museum of Trade (established 1874) gradually found their way to the ethnographic department of the Imperial and Royal Court Museum of Natural History (later, Museum of Ethnology, today Weltmuseum Wien). In 1925 the Austrian Museum of Trade was dissolved.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Silk, cotton, silver threads"]},"f073f1fe-e470-5070-abe1-8c53d486f903":{"name":"Printed and painted cotton hanging","short_description":"*Carpe diem!* Seize the day! advises the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65–8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace. Make the best out of your life and take it as it comes, since you never know when you will die. An identical incitement to exchange the fearful concentration on the future for the enjoyment of the present, before one crumbles into dust in no time, is found a thousand years later at the other end of the world, in a four-line poem ascribed to the Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131 AD), which decorates a late 19th century qalamkar fabric.","type":"Textile; painting","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 135.5cm, W: 90cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the TMS digital collection database, documents from the estate of the late collector.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book, documents from the estate of the late collector.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"Estate of the late Fritz Willfort, Vienna, purchased from the heirs, 2003","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"Der Phantastische Wald. Symbolik der Bäume. Baum der Vergänglichkeit\", in Gerard van Bussel and Axel Steinmann (eds), *Wald / Baum / Mensch, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Museum für Völkerkunde, 2011: 121.  \nSteinmann, Axel, \"At the Threshold of the Orient\", in Claudia Augustat and Reinhard Blumauer (eds), *In a Nutshell, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 90-95.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton, pigments"]},"f076e01a-b92e-50ef-8e77-6d8f18842351":{"name":"Fragmentary cenotaph cover with Qur'anic calligraphy","short_description":"This rectangular silk textile exhibits a design of chevron bands containing calligraphic inscriptions in *thuluth* script with verses of the Qur’an, invocations to God, and the *shahada*, or Muslim profession of faith. This type of textile covered important Ottoman tombs, and recalls the *kiswa* fabrics woven in similar designs, but of much larger scale, that were sent annually by the Ottoman sultans to adorn the Ka‘ba in Mecca.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira 11th–early 13th century / AD 17th–18th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 97.2cm, W: 67.9cm; Mount: H: 106.8cm, W: 77.8cm, D: 3.5cm","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931  \nFormer owner: Michael Friedsam, New York (until d. 1932; bequeathed to MMA)","bibliography":"Ekhtiar, Maryam, *How to Read Islamic Calligraphy*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018: 4, 104–5, no. 28, ill. 4, 104.  \nHaidar, Navina and Sardar, Marika, *Opulence and Fantasy. Sultans of Deccan India 1500–1700*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015: 18, ill. fig. 9 (colour).  \nSchimmel, Annemarie, \"Islamic Calligraphy\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series*, 50/1 (Summer 1992): 56, ill. fig. 66 (b/w).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931","keywords":["Arabic inscription","cloth","fabric","Fragment","funerary inscription","funerary object","inscription","Kiswa","Lampas weave","Ottoman","Ottoman textile","Shahada","silk","textile","textile fragment","Thuluth","Turkey"],"materials":["Lampas","Silk"]},"f0ec39f8-905e-5c73-87ea-5225163d384d":{"name":"Small Rectangular Pavilion Tent","short_description":"The simple red cotton plain weave exterior of this tent contrasts with the dramatic and elaborate embroidered decoration of the interior, probably accomplished in the Iranian town of Resht, a locale famous for its rich embroidery in chain-stitch technique. The tent comprises four walls, with a door panel at the end of one long side, and a gabled top made from two large rectangular panels and two triangular pediments, one at each end. The interior features appliquéd red, blue, green, and yellow pieced wool plain-weave fabrics embellished with tambour chain-stitch embroidery (the so-called *rashi* technique). Leather has been added to reinforce points of potential stress, wear, and friction.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 289cm x Width: 304cm x Diamter: 213cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Rasht, Persia (Iran), Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Asia","Cotton, Silk","Iran","leather","Pavillion","Persia","Persian","Rasht","Rectangular","tent","textile","wool"],"materials":["Wool, cotton, silk, leather"]},"f0fbf3fe-1168-5514-90da-4ae1a4c94a50":{"name":"Brocade.","description":"The aesthetics of this fabric is based on a repetitive design of large medallions and a well-balanced use of only three colours. Finely drawn silver arabesques fill the centre of each medallion, surrounded by a narrow poly-lobed frame of red silk. It follows a row of circles alternately coloured red and silver. A zigzag encloses this inner pattern. Red contoured trefoils and leaves on a golden background form the outer border. A detail which also proves the skill of the designer is the small silver point emphasising the middle of each trefoil.  \nThis brocade is part of a larger piece formerly used as an antependium (altar frontal). Many of the ecclesiastical textiles made in Sweden include fabrics imported from Persia and Turkey.","short_description":"Brocade with a repetitive design of large medallions. The design shows a well-balanced use of colours: silver for the arabesques which fill the centre of each medallion and red for the surrounding poly-lobed frames. This brocade is part of a larger piece formerly used as an antependium (altar frontal).","type":"Textile, Silk, gold, metal thread","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities.","owner":"Hjortsberga Church, Blekinge, Sweden.","initial_owner":"Hjortsberga Church, Blekinge, Sweden.","dates":"Hegira 9th–10th centuries / AD 15th–16th centuries.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 174 cm, width 94 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Hjortsberga Church.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, pp.178–81.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, p.50, cat. no. 48, plate 24.  \n*Islam, Konst och Kultur. Islam, Art and Culture*, Exhibition catalogue, Stockholm, 1985, 209, cat. no. 9.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["floral decoration","floral ornament","textile"],"materials":["brocade.","Silk, gold and silver threads"]},"f213ba89-7885-5b92-9751-68053497df4b":{"name":"Two  textile fragments","short_description":"With its calligraphic frieze, in which letters end in animal heads, its lively lions and griffins rooted in the Sasanian and Byzantine tradition, and its sumptuous, lotus-like flowers on arabesque vines, the textile combines features from the culture of East and West.  \nThe use of paper for the silver thread points towards China, while the iconography is Western.","type":"Textile, silk","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira 7th century / AD 13th century","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"East Islamic world or China","dynasty":"Ilkhanid","keywords":["calligraphy","Chinese influence","Combination of West and East","floral decoration","imaginary animal","Silk and silvered paper","textile","zoomorphic imagery"],"materials":["Samitum-woven, silk and silvered paper lamella"]},"f2e52825-73be-523d-a8e0-d681f7908689":{"name":"Small \"Chessboard\" carpet","description":"Made from distinctive coarse and shiny wool, this example features a vertical row of eight-pointed stars in hexagonal compartments around octagonal motifs.","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 162.6cm, width: 96.5cm.","place_of_production":"Damascus","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Damascus","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard.","bibliography":"Denny, Walter, and Farnham, Thomas J., *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Colection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.  \n  \nWalker, Daniel, *Turkish Rugs*, Saint Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 1988.","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["wool"]},"f5534c7f-4ba5-5e47-aca4-efc34893cbc5":{"name":"Textile.","description":"The fabric is decorated in the centre with a large motif of a vase of flowers inside a pointed frame that rests on two small columns, at the base of which there are two cypress trees. The lower part of the fabric depicts a gated entrance crowned with a crescent moon beneath an epigraphic motif in Arabic characters. On either side there are large cypress trees beside star motifs. The entire piece is framed with plant volutes with lance-shaped leaves and four- and five-petal flowers. The decoration consists of gold- and silver-plated wire embroidery.","short_description":"This fabric is of Turkish origin produced in the late Ottoman era and is characterised by naturalistic floral motifs, in which the influence of Western decorative trends can be clearly seen.","type":"Silk, satin, metal thread","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 300 cm, width 200 cm.","method_for_provenance":"This fabric was produced in late-Ottoman Turkey in the 13th / late 19th century and is characterised by the use of naturalistic floral motifs that clearly show a strong influence of more Western decorative elements.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Barışta, H. ö., “Turkish Embroideries: Later Period of The Ottoman Empire”, *Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art*, Warsaw, 1990, pp.37–42.  \nGönül, M., “Some Turkish Embroideries in the Collection of the Topkapisaray Museum in Istanbul”, *Kunst des Orients*, 1969, VI, pp.43–76.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["embroidery, Ottoman textiles","floral decoration","textile","vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with metal thread."]},"f6a4d871-3bbf-5f91-943b-4fb7cd618871":{"name":"Saddle (*serj*)","description":"A saddle (*serj*) crafted in Rabat in the 19th century, but making use of British imports such as velvet (*nta‘a*), leather and gold thread.","type":"Saddle","holder":"Dar Jamaï Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"Meknès","dimensions":"H: 105cm, W: 84cm","keywords":["Craftsmanship","traditional craftsmanship","Moroccan craftsmen","leather","leatherwork","trade","raw material","finished products","British in Morocco","horsemanship"],"materials":["Velvet; gold thread; metal; leather"]},"f7fde934-bd37-5990-9d4a-995069413fad":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile with stencilled decoration with Arab calligraphy. The textile surface has different shades.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"38 x 52 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design","Islamic influence"],"materials":["Linen and metal; tabby or plain weave, stecilled decoration"]},"fa052673-5ed9-5255-bc4c-8cacacef21c2":{"name":"Kaaba *Kiswah* (Covering)","short_description":"Prior to Islam, regional tribes competed to cloak the Kaaba, a religious sanctuary. Every year on the ninth day of the Pilgrimage month, a new *Kiswah* (covering) reveals the Kaaba’s new face in a ceremony while concealing the building’s appearance. Sewn by Egyptian craftsman in 1910, this fragment of the *Kiswah* to the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia represents the curtain covering an architectural door adorned with calligraphy. A generous 220 kilograms of gold and silver embroider the 670 kilograms of black-dyed silk. The year-long manufacture, considered a religious duty, requires precision and laborious processes to create a fitted garment that can withstand the hot sun. Egyptian rural production centres produced the *Kiswah* for centuries. Today, modern media helps witness the production and ritual replacement worldwide with livestream coverage.","type":"Religious relic","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"1910","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 582cm, Width: 290cm","place_of_production":"Egypt","method_for_datation":"The date and commissioner are embroidered onto the Kiwa.","method_for_provenance":"The Kiswa covers the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.","provenance":"Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia","obtention":"Gift","bibliography":"Alashari, D. M., Hamzah, A. R., and Marni, N., \"The Aesthetics and Greatness of the Kiswah of the Kaaba in the Saudi Era\", *Umran-International Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies*, 8 : 1 (2021).  \nAlhazmi, N. H., *Maintenance as Spectacle: Imagery of the Ka’ba’s Cleaning and Kiswa*, Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2021.","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","keywords":["Kaaba","Kiswa","Mecca","Saudi Arabia"],"materials":["embroidery","Silk, cotton, gold, silver"]},"fbd001b0-41f7-592f-b717-94dbb55470d2":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Abdülmecid ['Abd al-Majid] I","short_description":"The curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba – known also as *sitara*, *burda* or *burqu‘* – was by far the most elaborate part of the *kiswa* and was replaced annually. Since Mamluk times, they were made in Egypt, and left Cairo with the *kiswa* accompanied by the caravan of pilgrims amidst great pomp and circumstance.  \n  \nThe design of this curtain is typical of those made at the Dar al-Kiswa in Cairo during the 19th century, and it continued to be used until the early 20th century. Curtains of this type were usually made in four sections which were embroidered and then sewn together, the heavy wire embroidery almost completely obscuring the seams. The silk fabric was backed with heavy canvas which helped support the weight of the wire, which on a heavily embroidered example like this, can weigh anything up to 60 kilograms. With its heavy use of embroidery, this curtain could have easily taken 20 or more embroiderers two months to complete.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba door curtain; *sitara*; *burqu‘*; *burda*, *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1263 / AD 1846–7","location":"London","dimensions":"550 x 275cm","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["calligraphy","Ceremonial object","cotton","Curtain","embroidery","hajj","Hijaz","Ka'ba","Mecca","Ottoman textile","pilgrimage","Pilgrimage route","Religion","religious object","silk","silver","textile","travel"],"materials":["Black silk, with red and gold-coloured silk appliqués, heavily relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"ff84f82c-c3c2-50e4-8ddf-d6d4c8fd00cb":{"name":"*Suzani*","short_description":"Largely known as ‘Bukhara embroideries’, *suzanis* were much prized in Romania. The term, derived from the Persian *suzan*, which means ‘needle’, is applied to a type of embroideries produced in urban workshops from a region in present-day Uzbekistan. As part of the bride’s dowry *suzanis* vary in size and design, and may serve different purposes. They involve the joint effort of several artisans. At first the composition is drawn on the fabric which is then cut into several pieces in order to be embroidered by other women. Subsequently the embroidered pieces are stitched together; the resulting irregularities add to the particular charm of the ensemble. In spite of obvious stylistic differences between the *suzanis* made in Bukhara, Tashkent, Shahrisabz, or Nurata, a definitive provenance may prove difficult to establish. Irrespective of the manufacturing centre all *suzani* embroideries share a specific chromatic exuberance reminiscent to a certain degree of the Mughal and Ottoman art, and quite unlike the restricted colour range of Central Asian carpets. The present embroidery belongs to the group of so-called ‘large-medallion *suzanis*’, more precisely to an extremely rare subgroup limited until recently to only three other examples. The Persian and Hellenistic motifs treated in a free, unrestrained manner recall the rich cultural heritage of Central Asia, which witnessed the rise and fall of great civilizations.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 194cm, Width: 146cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Bukhara, Uzbekistan","obtention":"Purchased by the Museum in 1982.","bibliography":"Beldescu, I.-A., *Broderii orientale*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2001: 20, cat. no. 8.  \nDunca, M., Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 50, no.17.  \nKalter, J., *The Arts and Crafts of Turkestan*, London: Thames and Hudson, 1984.","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Large-medallion suzani"],"materials":["Cotton embroidered with silk (4 pieces stitched together)"]}}
+{"003a4edc-0d1e-5875-9041-6715b1c36ebf":{"name":"Five textile fragments.","description":"Five circular woollen textile fragments each decorated with a depiction of a bird, perhaps a duck or a goose, in different sizes and colours, and woven in a non-extended weft pattern, a tapestry technique. The fragments were taken from bigger textiles, perhaps used as a counterpane or curtains, and which may have consisted of a decorative design with repetitive motifs. Upper Egypt was famous for sumptuous woven cloth such as this, with Asyut, Akhmim and the City of Fustat prominent places of production during the Tulunid period (AH 3rd / AD 9th century).  \nDuring the Tulunid period, textiles were distinguished by the appearance of a shadow in the decorative components, where the colour was graded from light to dark, as well as for their powerful expression. They were also influenced by the Sassanid style, brought by Ahmad ibn Tulun (r. AH 254–70 / AD 868–84) from Iraq. The production of textiles in the Tulunid period represents a period of transition in Egypt between the Coptic period and the Islamic period with regard to the decorative components and their development.  \nMost of the *jizya* (tribute) which Ahmad ibn Tulun sent to the court of the Abbasid caliphs consisted of textiles made in the *Tiraz* workshops, under royal decree, which produced magnificent fabrics of wool and linen. Tulun took a personal interest in the textile factories of Egypt, which were widespread in the north delta regions of Tanis, Dabik, Damietta, and other cities. These regions were famous for the manufacture of linen cloth with inscriptions woven in silk in a multitude of colours. Interest in textile manufacture increased in Egypt with the rule of the sons of Ibn Tulun: Khumarawayh (r. AH 270–82 / AD 884–96) and Harun (r. AH 283–92 / AD 896–905), who were inclined towards recording their names in inscription bands on the textile itself.","short_description":"Cotton and linen textiles were woven in various factories in Egypt: Alexandria, Damietta, Farma, Bahnasa, Akhmim and Asyut. Coptic-style decorations remained prevalent during the AH 1st–3rd / AD 7th–9th centuries. The pieces here are notable for the shadow effect in the decorations, where colour is graded from light to dark shades.","type":"Textile, wool","holder":"Textile Museum (One of the branches of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo)","dates":"Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century.","location":"Cairo","dimensions":"Diameter of the biggest piece: 20 cm.","method_for_datation":"These fragments have been dated based on a study of their decorative components that include the depiction of birds similar to those found in Tulunid *Tiraz* textiles from the Upper Egypt region, and which also resemble the depictions of birds on other Iraqi applied arts with Sassanid roots. Furthermore, the colours used in these textiles, whether it be different shades of yellow, degrees of green or blue, are colours that were customary on Tulunid textiles.","method_for_provenance":"Egypt was famed during the Tulunid period for its textile industry where magnificent woollen and linen fabrics were produced. The depiction of birds found on these textile fragments are also similar to those found in Tulunid *Tiraz* textiles from Upper Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The fragments were bought in 1944 from one of the antiquities dealers in Cairo, Fukyan Jan Tano.","bibliography":"Baker, P., *Islamic Textiles,* London, 1995.  \nHassan, Z. M., *Al-Fan al-Islami fi Masr \\[Islamic Art in Egypt\\],* Cairo, 1935.  \nMarzuq, M. A., *Al-Funun al-Zukhrufiya al-Islamiya fi Masr qabl 'Asr al-Fatimiyyin \\[Islamic Decorative Arts in Egypt before the Fatimids\\],* Cairo, 1974.  \nMaher, S. M., *Al-Nasij al-Islami \\[Islamic Textiles\\],* Cairo, 1977.  \nSelim, M. A., *Mansujat al-Tiraz fi Al-'Asr al-Abbasi \\[Tiraz Textiles in the Abbasid period\\],* MA Thesis, Cairo*,* 1995.","dynasty":"Tulunid","author":"Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Selim","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Figurative decoration; wool; tiraz; Coptic; textile; tapestry; figurative representation; animal decoration; bird; royal manufacture; workshop"],"materials":["Wool with the woven decorations woven in a non-extended weft pattern (tapestry technique)."]},"012b5222-da31-50c5-8bfc-eb439eea45d0":{"name":"*Flight of the French army and retreat of the Duke of Alençon across the Ticino*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the right-hand border of the tapestry; the mark can also be found on another example in the series. The presence of the weaver’s mark has also allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here, placed in the sequence suggested by Paredes, constitutes the last in the series and should be read in close continuity with the subject represented in the tapestry that precedes it, *Flight of the besieged and retreat of the Swiss who drown in great numbers in the Ticino*. In particular, from the juxtaposition of the two tapestries, the landscape south of Pavia can be recreated, distinguished by the presence of the small island of Gravellone, separated from the city by the waters of the Ticino. The tapestry represents one of the final moments of the battle, with a portrait of the Duke of Alençon – identified by the writing on the caparison of his horse – who, after having crossed the bridge of boats on the Ticino, orders its destruction to prevent the enemy from following. In the foreground, a few infantrymen are depicted, busy destroying the bridge, while a horseman and other soldiers are the last to cross it. The action of the Duke of Alençon, brother-in-law of the King of France, condemns all those who do not manage to cross the bridge to the wrath of the enemy or to the swirling waters of the river. In the distance, one can glimpse a herd of cows grazing serenely, indifferent to the war, in the rural landscape.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 433cm, W: 863cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"01c1fd3b-239c-5a49-b106-2c0d2c8ff5bf":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment of a scene depicting hunters on camels indicates the extraordinary skill of the Safavid weavers. Another fragment of this textile showing six hunters is in the Keir Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. In the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' piece, two turbaned riders hunting gazelles with spears stand out against an orangey red background adorned with rocks and plant designs. The subject of the scene – hunting on camelback – is borrowed from a story that the Persian poet Nizami (AD 1141–1209) told about the Sasanian King Bahram Gur (AD 420–438/39). The theme of the royal hunt figured prominently in Achaemenid and Sasanian decorative arts, providing a favourite motif for Safavid weaving and the miniatures of the period.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"23.6cm x 32cm","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase, Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest  \nPurchased from Arthur Upham Pope, Warren, Connecticut, in 1962, thanks to the Horsley and Annie Townsend Bequest","bibliography":"Salam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 60.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Safawid textile; brocade; brocaded silk; Persian textile; hunting scene"],"materials":["Silk"]},"020537ba-c7e7-5283-b409-13ae6ef0caa1":{"name":"Ikat hanging","short_description":"The decoration of this wall hanging is characteristic of the 19th century: It shows a cypress tree, here flanked by two smaller trees, in a niche. The central motif is bordered on the right and left by a wide border, reminiscent of borders on carpets.  \n  \nThe hanging is made using the ikat technique, yet in this case a far more complex material choice has been employed, not being made simply from silk or cotton but as an ikat velvet. They were made in Kashan, possibly also in Yazd. On the basis of some inscribed objects, a period of manufacture from 1896 to 1925 is attested, i.e. exactly until the end of the Qajar period.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Hermann and Annette Landolt-Tüller","dates":"Hegira beginning of 13th century / AD end of 19th-beginning of 20th century","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 186.5cm, Width: 138cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with stylistically similar objects","provenance":"Iran, Kashan","obtention":"Acquisition with funds from the Rietberg Kreis","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschoff, Marie-Louise, and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen. Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: esp. 104-109.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Velvet ikat, silk (warp) and cotton (weft)"]},"04d27671-b1ac-5ad5-85cb-254ee0e80def":{"name":"Bridal cushion","description":"This bridal cushion from Ma’an, Jordan, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, is among the most distinctive examples of Jordanian domestic textiles. They feature embroidery patterns that are believed to reflect connections with the Caucasus, whether through historical travel, trade, or settlement. These motifs stand as a testament to Ma'an's role as a crossroads of cultural exchange, where influences from distant regions were absorbed into local artistic traditions.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64,5 cm; width: 34 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Bride; Furniture; marriage; wedding; embroidery"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"05e7e5aa-01c1-5eb2-8d63-892574f025d5":{"name":"Silk fragment.","description":"A fragment of linen and silk textile that is tapestry-woven. It has four horizontal silk panels that alternate between areas of woven linen and vertical blue silk stripes. The uppermost band shows a broad, gathered band that is interlaced in gold and outlined in red. The spaces within the interlacing are filled with gold-coloured motifs above and below, and abstract floral motifs rendered in gold and green in the centre; the entirety is flanked above and below by gold-coloured split-palmette scroll borders set against a red background. Below this is a band of cursive Arabic script, rendered in blue and set against a plain background, again flanked by gold-coloured split-palmette scroll borders. The stripe beneath this, which features borders identical to those above, shows an elegant gold-coloured *kufic* inscription, with red detailing, set against a deep-blue background. The final band consists of two superposed strips of gold-coloured split-palmette scrolls with red outlines.","short_description":"Textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail are typical of Fatimid Egypt, famous for the production of luxury textiles. Many were found in burials in Upper Egypt. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile linen, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira the 540s to 70s / AD second quarter of the 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 20.32 cm, width 26.67 cm.","method_for_datation":"The style of the inscription encountered on this fragment is closely related to a linen fragment with tapestry-woven silk elements in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva, which has been attributed to Fatimid Egypt during the 540s to 570s / second quarter of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","bibliography":"*Tissus d’Egypte: Témoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe – Xve siècles*, Collection Bouvier,Geneva / Paris 1993, pp. 250–1, cat. no. 151 (for a similar textile).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka; silk; linen; kufic script; Henry Wallis; Fatimid textiles; textile"],"materials":["Linen and woven silk."]},"07cdf5ca-173b-58b3-98fd-a1ff89450b73":{"name":"Boy's Vest","description":"This boy's vest, displayed at Tiraz, features a back panel crafted from traditional Syrian-made striped saya silk. Worn specifically during a circumcision ceremony, the festive garment is heavily embellished with an assortment of coins from various currencies, origins, and geographic regions. The vest originates from the Hebron villages and dates back to approximately 1930.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","place_of_production":"Hebron villages, Palestine","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Clothing; Dress; Children; Silk; Ceremony"],"materials":["Silk, Coins"]},"07cfbb4a-25e5-5ae3-a64e-9de990ccf477":{"name":"Bridal cushion","description":"This bridal cushion from Ma'an, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, reflects the town’s position as a crossroads of cultural exchange. Its embroidered designs and use of ikat textiles reveal connections with wider textile traditions from Central Asia, Turkey, and Syria, where ikat weaving was historically widespread and highly developed. These influences reached Ma'an through networks of travel, trade, pilgrimage, and migration, becoming integrated into local practices.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64 cm; width: 40 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Bride; wedding; marriage; furniture; embroidery"],"materials":["Silk, cotton"]},"0a57eb56-35f8-5035-aa69-a4e1aa6f9983":{"name":"Textile panel with design of flowering plants and pools of coiled waves","description":"A velvet texile panel with designs of floral sprays and stylized ponds. The tan ground has a vertical pattern of conventionalized plant forms in browns and greens, with details in gold and silver, outlined in black silk, metallic thread (silver foil on a silk core). The panel is made of cut and voided supplementary warp pile in 5-harness satin foundation with supplementary weft (velvet).","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dimensions":"Length 113cm, width 69.9cm","place_of_production":"Yazd (Iran)","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Yazd (Iran)","obtention":"Museum purchase.","dynasty":"Safavids","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["Cut and voided velvet-weave silk with satin-weave foundation and silver and gilt thread brocading wefts"]},"0bdd9721-3f27-532b-aa49-d29c2756dbbe":{"name":"*Flight of the besieged and retreat of the Swiss who drown in great numbers in the Ticino*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here should be viewed immediately after the tapestry with *The taking of Mirabello Castle*, and it precedes the last in the series, *Flight of the French army and retreat of the Duke of Alençon across the Ticino*. In particular, from the juxtaposition of the three tapestries, one can reconstruct on the left the French encampment, bordered in the foreground by the walls of the Visconti Park and by the defensive system composed of a series of gabions, which one can also distinguish in the distance. On the right, one can recreate the landscape south of Pavia, distinguished by the presence of the small island of Gravellone and by the course of the waters of the Ticino.  \nDominating the tapestry is the depiction of the city of Pavia, bordered by walls, with the Visconti Castle on the left and the Covered Bridge on the right. This is the final phase of the battle: troops commanded by Antonio de Leyva burst out of the city besieged by the imperial troops and attack the French army from behind. In the centre, soldiers and civilians come out of their shelters, trying to flee, while several men, pushed towards the Ticino by the imperial cavalry, drown in the river. In the centre of the tapestry, one of the cavaliers of François de Laval, Count of Montfort, can be identified thanks to the writing embroidered on his horse’s harness.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528‒1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 424cm, W: 886cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"0c9e0529-7380-57a8-b3d5-151fa4c93eb2":{"name":"The revenge ground of al-Mukhtar (Persian: *Dar al-entegham-e Mokhtar*)","short_description":"The tragic martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson al-Husayn and his companions at Karbala' near Kufa, where they were massacred by an Umayyad army in 61/680, played an important role in the consolidation of the *Shi'i* ethos; it also led to the formation of radical trends among the *Shi'i*. The earliest of such trends became manifest in the movement of al-Mukhtar, who won control of Kufa in an open revolt in 66/685. Aiming to avenge al-Husayn’s murder, al-Mukhtar launched his own movement and proclaimed Ibn al-Hanafiyya, al-Husayn’s half-brother Muhammad, as the *Mahdi*, 'the divinely guided one', the messianic saviour imam and restorer of true Islam who would establish justice on earth and deliver the oppressed from tyranny.","type":"Textile; painting","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"1996","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"L: 295cm, W: 285cm","method_for_datation":"Personal documentation by the curator.","method_for_provenance":"Personal documentation by the curator.","provenance":"Iran, Esfahan","obtention":"Purchased 1996 in Isfahan by Dr Axel Steinmann, curator at the Museum für Völkerkunde, during his fieldwork in Iran.","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"The revenge ground of al-Mukhtar\", in Anne-Marie Bouttiaux and Anna Seiderer (eds), *Fetisch Modernity, exhibition catalogue*, Tervuren: Royal Museum for Central Africa, 2011: 118.  \nSteinmann, Axel, \"Heroic Stories\", in Christian Schicklgruber (ed), *Weltmuseum Wien, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 110-113.","materials":["Cloth with painted and stamped designs"]},"0e006c19-7de8-5aa1-b346-0a40a7dbcbd8":{"name":"Bow quiver","short_description":"This bow quiver was in the collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (AD 1529–95) at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck. Its exterior is edged in red and covered all over with delicate spiral vines made of white leather and set with dark-blue lamellae (scales); two red medallions are placed among them. The back of the quiver is dark-blue except for a narrow edging and two oval gold medallions. The arrow quiver is identical and complements the bow quiver.","type":"Arms","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 956–957 / AD c. 1550","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Height: 68cm, Width: 35cm","method_for_datation":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","method_for_provenance":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","bibliography":"Beaufort-Spontin, Christian and Pfaffenbichler, Matthias, *Meisterwerke der Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer*, Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, 2005.  \nGamber, Ortwin and Beaufort-Spontin, Christian, *Katalog der Leibrüstkammer II. Teil. Der Zeitraum von 1530-1560*, Busto Arsizio: Bramante, 1990.  \nGamber, Ortwin, Thomas, Bruno and Schedelmann, Hans, *Armi e Armature Europee*, Milan: Bramante, 1974.  \nThomas, Bruno, \"Aus der Waffensammlung in der Neuen Burg zu Wien: Orientalische Kostbarkeiten\", *Bustan*, 4 : 5 (1963/64).","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Matthias Pfaffenbichler, Tobias Roeder","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["Ottoman arms; arms; armours; military object; collection; military wear; weapon; quiver; Ottoman Empire"],"materials":["Damast, gold embroidery"]},"0e4485e1-3fb0-5d8c-a83c-5315bc85cb66":{"name":"*Kiswa* (tomb cover) for the Prophet of God, Ibrahim (Abraham).","description":"There was a tradition in both the Mamluk and the Ottoman periods, for sultans, noble personages of state, as well as the benevolent, to interest themselves in the tombs of the prophets and the devout by offering a *kiswa* (covering for a grave or tomb), and then to renew it each year or whenever necessary. The ritual draping of tombs and shrines were popular celebrations that took place in certain seasons every year. For the most part, this occurred in order to procure the good-will and approval of visitors to the tomb or shrine, and to enhance the popularity of the *kiswa*'s donor among the general public. It was during the Ottoman period in Palestine that there was a huge unparalleled interest in the tombs, shrines and holy places that were scattered throughout the region. This was within the context of the official interest in the Sufi orders, their sheikhs, and the venues where the rituals were practiced. An example of this veneration can be seen in the context of the tombs of the Prophets Moses, Samuel and David, and their wives, in al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).  \nThe *kiswa* exhibited here is made from woven green silk. The *kiswa* was produced in order to envelope the tomb completely, leaving only the tombstone visible, upon which was written the name of the deceased: “The Prophet of God, Ibrahim \\[Abraham\\]”. The *tughra* of the Ottoman sultan, Selim III (r. AH 1203-22/AD 1789-1807) is embroidered on the *Kiswa*, together with inscriptions that read, “This is a protector” and “revered”, in addition to other inscriptions that include religious supplications and Qur'anic verses.  \nThe official tradition as noted above, to send *kiswa*s to the tombs and shrines of venerated holy men and women, continued in Palestine until the end of the Ottoman period in 1916, when the tradition was officially stopped. At the popular level, however, locals who lived in the environs of these tomb sites and shrines continued preparing *kiswas* but they were no longer splendid, finely made textiles as had been the case during the period of the Ottoman sultans.","short_description":"The coverings of the prophets’ tombs were renewed every year in popular celebrations. The importance of these traditions increased during the Ottoman period. This covering woven of green silk envelops the tomb leaving only the tombstone on which is written the name of the deceased. The *tughra* of Ottoman Sultan Selim III is embroidered on it.","type":"Silk embroidery, silk thread, costume","holder":"Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif.","initial_owner":"The Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).","dates":"Hegira 1203–22 / AD 1789–1807.","location":"Jerusalem","dimensions":"Length 180 cm, width 210 cm.","method_for_datation":"The piece was dated by the inscription embroidered on it which bears the name of the donor, the Ottoman sultan, Selim III.","method_for_provenance":"It is likely that this piece was made in Syria or Istanbul in view of the similarities with other pieces made there, some of which are housed in Turkish museums, particularly in Istanbul.","provenance":"Probably produced in either Syria or Istanbul, but made specifically for the Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil).","obtention":"The piece was transferred from al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron (al-Khalil) to the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem at an unknown date.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_PA_EN_001","author":"Nazmi Al-Ju'beh","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Kiswa; tomb; cloth; fabric; silk; funerary object"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silver silk threads."]},"123265a3-960f-5c76-9487-14f718823b74":{"name":"*Termeh* panel","short_description":"Very popular both in the Eastern world and in Europe, ‘Kashmir shawls’ (Pers. *termeh*) were produced not only in northern India but also in Iran, mostly in Kerman. *Termeh* panels, embroidered with metal thread (in the *sermeh duzi* technique) and occasionally with pearls, were treasured family possessions handed down from generation to generation. When used as wedding gifts they included inscriptions of good wishes to the bride and groom. This sumptuous *termeh* panel features scrolling vines and grapes embroidered with silver strips on the wool ground decorated with *botehs*. Various alternating metal strips and a profusion of pearls enhance the highly suggestive tactile quality of this exquisite embroidery.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 66cm, Width: 46cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by the Museum in 1959.","bibliography":"Dunca, M., *Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 46, no. 16.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Embroidery, termeh"],"materials":["Wool, silk braid, embroidery with silver strips, pearls"]},"14763417-a183-5949-ac5d-11f296d400e1":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"This hanging of red, yellow-golden and green silk is richly embroidered with silver and silver-gilt inscriptions and designs. Above, a lamp with invocations to Allah as the Opener or Judge (ya Fattah) appears suspended from an arched niche resting on two columns. Its spandrels display two roundels with the Islamic profession of Faith (shahada). Below, a quote from chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah), verse 197 of the Holy Qur’an appears: ‘…and the best provision is Al-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)’. In the lower half of the hanging, four roundels with the names of the rightly-guided caliphs surround the imperial Ottoman emblem or tughra of the sultan Abd al- Hamid II  (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD), who commissioned this curtain.. Hangings like this one may have been intended for the prayer niche of the Prophet’s mosque, as earlier examples of this type often include the inscription ‘this is the mihrab of the Prophet (pbuh)’.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation / Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira mid 13th century / AD mid 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2620 mm x 1430 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["shahada; tughra; tugra; sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and gilt silver thread"],"artist":"Unknown"},"14df710b-1ecd-5f46-9a55-9c8986e98145":{"name":"Fragment of golden lampas with capture scene","short_description":"Silk figured fabrics (patterns of which included images of people) were at the peak of the Safavid court fashion. A remarkable example of the type is this fragment of a golden lampas depicting a scene of captivity. One of the most technologically sophisticated and costly fabrics in Iran, the golden lampas provided up to 10 silk threads of different colours in the pattern. The inclusion of threads wrapped in gold or silver foil suggest that the fabric could be produced in *karkhane* – imperial workshops.  \nThe fragment is one of the two largest pieces among seven dispersed parts of a very costly man’s robe that probably belonged to some member of the Iranian Shah family. The scene featured on the lampas has long aroused great interest among researchers. Around a tree (sycamore or maple), where a large fairy bird is sitting on the branch, rides a horseman leading a prisoner. A little child sits behind the rider. Above the people a rooster flies towards a tree.  \nThe horseman is depicted in the characteristic Safavid outfit of the AD 16th century: a turban is wound around a tall Taj cap, the number of turban bangs symbolizes 12 righteous Shi‘ite imams.  \nThe idea to treat the scene as a political manifesto of the victorious campaigns of Shah Tahmasp I to Georgia (1540, 1553) was complemented by alternative *Sufi* interpretation of the subject. The scene of captivity was seen as an allegory of man on his spiritual path to God. Thus the horseman stands for the Teacher who leads the Disciple (captive) through the complex ways of learning towards a divine truth personified by the mythical ancient Iranian bird, Simurg (fairy bird).","type":"Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","owner":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD 16th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 109cm, Width: 34cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by Leon Guzalian (examination, 1955); Galina Lasikova (2003).","method_for_provenance":"Ассording to the entry in the Old Museum Inventory Register (1919-1940).","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenkos. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalised by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Bier, Carol (ed), *Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, 16th–19th Centuries*, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C.: Textile Museum, 1987.  \nBilenko, H. and Rudyck (Rudyk), H., *Oriental Collection*, guidebook, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2005.  \nLasikova, Galina, \"“The bird’s language” on the Safavid khil’at with capture imagery in Khanenkivski Chytannya\", in *Proceedings of the International Museum Conference*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2003.  \nRudyk, H. (ed), *Charisma of Iran. Persian art of 12th–19th centuries from museum collections of Ukraine*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2017.  \nThompson, Jon and Canby, Sheila, R. (eds), *Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran 1501–1576*, Milan: Skira, 2003.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Golden lampas; Iran; Safavid"],"materials":["Silk, metal-wrapped thread; lampas weaving"]},"167452fd-adc4-5a30-86d3-5bf301e4087f":{"name":"Inscribed textile (*tiraz*)","short_description":"This *tiraz* was made for the Fatimid caliph al-‘Aziz (Hegira 365–386 / AD 975–996). It testifies to the tractable nature of Fatimid society. Exceptionally, in addition to supplying the caliph’s titles, it gives the name of his chief minister or vizier Ibn Killis (served Hegira 366–380 / AD 977–90). Killis, who was of Jewish origin, was famous for the financial reforms that helped bring enormous prosperity to Egypt as well as to the vizier. The inscription reads,  \nPraise to God, Lord of the Worlds, may God bless Muhammad the Prophet. Assistance from God \\[to\\] Nizar Abu Mansur, the Imam al-‘Aziz billah, Commander of the faithful, God’s blessing upon him and upon \\[his pure ancestors\\]. From what was ordered by the respectable vizier Abu‘l-Faraj Ya‘qub ibn Yusuf \\[Ibn Killis\\], vizier of the Commander of the faithful, to be made in the year \\[three hundred\\] seventy-one.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira 371 / AD 981","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"39.4 x 69.2cm","method_for_datation":"It is dated Hegira 371 / AD 981.","method_for_provenance":"Most such *tiraz* were discovered in Egypt; furthermore, this example is inscribed in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-‘Aziz (Hegira 365–386 / AD 975-996).","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Maan Z. Madina (1926-2013), New York, until 2002 (sold to); LACMA, The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost.","bibliography":"Al-Imad, Leila S., *The Fatimid Vizierate, 969-1172*, Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1990: 80-96.  \nDaftary, Farhad and Zulfikar, Hijro, *The Ismailis, An Illustrated History*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2008: 89.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Gifts of the Sultan: The Art of Giving at the Islamic Courts*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011: 36-37, 212, fig. 29.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Lo Terrenal y lo divino: Arte islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles*, Santiago, Chile: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015: 51-53.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Rev. ed., Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005: 22, fig. 16.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["Fatimid textiles; royal manufacture; workshop; caliph al-‘Aziz; Imam; court life; ibn killis; Jewish; calligraphy"],"materials":["Linen and silk; tabby and tapestry weave"]},"16bb32a1-7942-5864-81b6-113096c7ab5e":{"name":"Towel (*peşkir*) with design of floral motifs","description":"A scarf made of fine white muslin, the ends beautifully embroidered with large and small flowers and leaves in madder shades of silk and with tinsel, and finished with a fringe of gold thread.","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira late 12th to early 13th century / AD late 18th to early 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length 147.3cm, width 63.5cm","place_of_production":"Turkey","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Museum purchase.","dynasty":"Ottoman","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["Silk and metallic yarn embroidery on cotton"]},"176c309e-be45-54b8-81a1-917857d46338":{"name":"Textile","description":"This textile was displayed in the exhibition about Islamic Art held in Munich in 1910, as part of the Miquel i Badia collection. Afterwards it was acquired by Lázaro Galdiano, one of the most important Spanish art collectors. It is important to note Lazaro Galdiano's interest in and art appraisal of objects from the Spanish Muslim period. He was one of the earliest collectors of Arab art in Spain. The decoration is similar to the Golden Room of the Alhambra palace and it could be the Mohammad V period.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Nasrid period (1232-1492); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"42,9 x 30,8 cm","provenance":"Spain","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art; islamic influence; orientalism; collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; lampas weave"]},"18eaab56-4106-57be-8e1b-519c5c4f9546":{"name":"Arrow quiver","short_description":"This arrow quiver was in the collection of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol (AD 1529–95) at Ambras Castle near Innsbruck. The quiver is edged in red and decorated all over with delicate vines made of white leather set with dark-blue lamellae (scales).","type":"Arms","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 956–957 / AD c. 1550","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Height: 42cm, Width: 26cm","method_for_datation":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","method_for_provenance":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection Ambras Castle, Inventory AD 1583","bibliography":"Beaufort-Spontin, Christian and Pfaffenbichler, Matthias, *Meisterwerke der Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer*, Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, 2005.  \nGamber, Ortwin and Beaufort-Spontin, Christian, *Katalog der Leibrüstkammer II. Teil. Der Zeitraum von 1530-1560*, Busto Arsizio: Bramante, 1990.  \nGamber, Ortwin, Thomas, Bruno and Schedelmann, Hans, *Armi e Armature Europee*, Milan: Bramante, 1974.  \nThomas, Bruno, \"Aus der Waffensammlung in der Neuen Burg zu Wien: Orientalische Kostbarkeiten\", *Bustan*, 4 : 5 (1963/64).","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Matthias Pfaffenbichler, Tobias Roeder","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["Ottoman arms; arms; armours; military object; collection; military wear; weapon; Quiver; Ottoman Empire"],"materials":["Coloured leather, linen"]},"198af7b8-d119-53c0-a03b-ca6e94c08acd":{"name":"Stole, mirror dressing (*tenchifa*).","description":"A long stole embroidered on both ends and on part of the sides.  \nAt the ends, the decoration is divided into two sections that precede a fillet of silk thread spirals and a golden thread braid.  \nThe first section consists of a frieze of wild roses arranged around a cruciform pistil and stylised serrated horseshoe hyacinths arranged obliquely around the fleurons.  \nThe second section consists of a bouquet of flowers growing from a thick undulating line in green silk representing foliage from which the stems and stylised flowers emerge. The ovoid medallion with serrated edges that finishes it is reminiscent of the pomegranate. The borders between the two end compositions are decorated with floral motifs suggesting small butterflies and finished with a golden braid.  \nAll of these motifs would have been embroidered by women with brightly and harmoniously coloured thread. The black silk line that surrounds them enhances the design.  \nStoles of this type were hung around mirror frames during festivals to ward off the evil eye. Although the composition and floral motifs are borrowed from the vegetal embroidery of the Algerian Ottomans, the very free stylisation distances it from this original model and sets the piece apart, constituting a genre in itself.","short_description":"This long stole is embroidered on both ends and part of the sides and would have been hung around mirror frames on feast days to ward off the evil eye. Its compositions and floral motifs, although stylised, are borrowed from the plant repertoire of Algerian Ottoman embroidery.","type":"Stole, silk","holder":"Museum of the Udayas.","dates":"Hegira 12th-13th centuries / AD 18th-19th centuries.","location":"Rabat.","dimensions":"Length 330 cm, width 54 cm.","method_for_datation":"Comparison with objects mentioned in published studies on the same type of decoration and object (see M. Guérard).","method_for_provenance":"This embroidery, the type of stole and the way it was used are all characteristic of Tetouan.","provenance":"Tetouan, Morocco.","obtention":"Purchased in 1987.","bibliography":"Guérard, M., “Les broderies de Tétouan”, *Hespéris-Tamouda*, X, fasc. 1 & 2, Rabat, 1969, pp.191–234.  \nMiège, J.-L., Benaboud, M. and Erzini, N., *Tétouan, ville andalouse marocaine*, Paris, 1996.  \nSoustiel, J., *L'art turc, céramique, tapis, étoffes, velours, broderies*, Paris 1852.","dynasty":"Alawid","author":"Naima El Khatib-Boujibar","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["vegetal decoration; floral decoration; geometric decoration; hyacinth"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with silk and gold thread."]},"19babff5-1d6a-5c97-b999-58f49f1481b4":{"name":"Tiraz","short_description":"Fragmentary linen *tiraz* textile with an elegant and highly stylized incription executed with pen and ink, rendering part of a repetition of wishes to the owner \"Blessing from God, and may his greatness be exalted, and victory from God and may his greatness...\"","type":"Textile, garment","holder":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","dates":"Hegira 4th century / AD 10th century","location":"Kuwait City","provenance":"Egypt","dynasty":"Abbasid","keywords":["Calligraphy; textile"]},"1b9107ef-851d-52ee-bc3e-ab6407fccbb8":{"name":"Sarong","short_description":"The harmonious marriage of the iridescent colours in Malay textiles is perhaps best seen in examples of finely woven *kain limar*. The single weft-ikat cloth, also known as *kain lemar* or *kain limau*, is principally produced in the state of Terengganu and Kelantan on the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula. While these cloths are now associated with the Sultanate of Terengganu, in the past they were also part of royal ceremonial costume in the Riau and Lingga archipelago, which lie between the Malay Peninsula and southern Sumatra.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"c. Hegira 1300-1400 / c. AD 1900-2000","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"103 x 210cm","provenance":"Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *The Message & The Monsoon: Islamic Art of Southeast Asia*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2005: 95.","materials":["Silk weft ikat with supplementary weft metal threads"]},"20111b76-70e4-5b40-874b-20a4d142f81d":{"name":"Fragment of woven silk.","description":"A blue silk woven with a quatrefoil design, bordered by inscriptions, and a polyfoil occupying the spaces in between. The inscription, written in Arabic reads: ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’. The development and chronology of Mamluk textile design has yet to be clearly defined. Mamluk silks and other textiles are exceedingly rare, and many of those that have survived have been retrieved from excavations of burials in Upper Egypt. Precious silks were used in the production of honorary robes, diplomatic gifts and high-class articles produced especially for export. Striped silks were particularly popular, and frequently the names and titles of sultans were incorporated into the design. Areas of Production for textiles such as this one included Asyut, a town in Upper Egypt, well-known for its high-quality linens and silks. Silks inscribed with the benediction ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’ are amongst the latest datable fabrics of the Mamluk era, the V&A in London holding several fragments with this feature.  \nIt has been suggested that fabrics such as this one may have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (AH 872–901 / AD 1468-96), whose official titles included ‘al-Ashraf’. Interestingly, blue textiles were often worn by *dhimmis* (the religious minorities)in the Mamluk period. Thus, a Coptic bishop buried at Qasr Ibrim in Upper Egypt, for example, was found wrapped in a blue-black woolen cloak.","short_description":"Mamluk silks are rare, but we know that they were used in the production of honorary robes, diplomatic gifts and high-class articles produced for export. Many bear the names and titles of sultans and this piece is assumed to have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (AH 872–901 / AD 1468–96).","type":"Mamluk woven silk textile","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 872–901 / AD 1468–96.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 41.91 cm, width 24.13 cm.","method_for_datation":"Mamluk silk fragments bearing the inscription ‘Honour to al-Ashraf’ are assumed to have been produced during the reign of Sultan Qa’itbay (872–901 / 1468–96). Stylistically, motifs on this silk fragment can also be compared with those occurring on contemporary metalwork.","method_for_provenance":"This item was retrieved from a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt and can be classified as having been produced in Mamluk Egypt on the basis of stylistic comparison with other Mamluk textile fragments.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This piece together with several other Fatimid fragments were acquired by the NMS from Henry Wallis in 1898. Wallis was a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","bibliography":"Atil, E., *Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks*, Washington D.C., 1981, pp.224–5. (for discussion on Mamluk textile production).","dynasty":"Mamluk","linkcatalogs":"IAM_EG_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Silk; Sultan Qaytbay; textile"],"materials":["Woven silk."]},"24d1b22a-7e02-5a13-97d1-ffbb62d62561":{"name":"Fragment from the internal *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"This fragment comes from the internal *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba which was presented by the Ottoman sultan ‘Abdülaziz (r. 1861–1876) in his first regnal year. It was the last internal *kiswa* to be sent by the Ottomans. It remained inside the Ka‘ba until 1936, when it was replaced by an Indian-made one. Later internal kiswas were woven in Mecca.  \nThe section preserved in fragment represents almost half of the loom width and an almost complete vertical repeat. The latter is made up of four zigzag bands. In the first wide band is the *shahada*, followed in a narrower band by phrases in praise of God. The third band has cartouches and roundels inscribed with invocations to God. The final narrow band has *sura* *al-Baqara*, II, verse 144, in part, ‘*We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque*’.","type":"Textile; woven textile; *kiswa*","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"1861–76","location":"London","dimensions":"45 x 35.5cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on published information.","provenance":"Turkey","bibliography":"Rif‘at Pasha, Ibrahim, *Mir’at al-haramayn*, vol. 1, Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, 1925: fig.113, opposite p.291.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; Ka'ba; Minbar; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Silk lampas, with satin ground and twill pattern"]},"24e0347f-f9f3-5254-ba16-aef618e16ba6":{"name":"Flag","short_description":"A piece of green Syrian silk fabric, inset on the top of the mast, which used to be carried during religious ceremonies. Trade and crafts were common activities in Jordan between the late 19th century and the earlier 20th century. These activities depended on migration and attracted groups of people who travelled or settled in the Jordanian territory to produce or sell products. Thus, the exchange of goods among different areas was very common, as exemplified by this object and many traditional dresses. Silk textiles were very common products in the Jordanian and Palestinian areas and were purchased from Syria, being an element in local fashion, both in Jordan and in Palestine.","type":"Cultic object","holder":"Jordan Museum for Costumes and Jewellery, Department of Antiquities","dates":"Early 20th century","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height 130 cm, Width 133 cm","provenance":"Palestine","author":"Huda Kilani","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["Syrian silk; religious ceremonies"],"materials":["Syrian silk fabric, local dyes"]},"2a768548-ee78-5645-b436-21f2d9bcf5cd":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A linen textile fragment comprising a horizontal panel of embroidered decoration with a repeat composition of two wider sections that alternate twice with two narrow sections. These are separated from each other by double borders in black wove. The wider panels have alternating blue and purple cursive inscriptions bordered by scrolling bands above and below. The narrow sections contain S-scrolls arranged vertically, beneath which is a continuous border of alternating inverted crescents and circles.","short_description":"Many Fatimid and Mamluk textiles have been found in burials in Upper Egypt, an area famous for its linen-weaving industry manned by Coptic Christian as well as Muslim textile workers. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira late 5th–7th century / AD 12th–13th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 38.10 cm, width 10.16 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been tentatively dated to the late 5th–7th / 12th–13th centuries on the basis of general similarities with other textiles of the Fatimid period.","method_for_provenance":"This textile comes from a tomb in al-Drounka, Egypt.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka; Fatimid textiles; textile"],"materials":["Woven and embroidered linen."]},"2d22b17c-980d-5bb0-b0d2-b23e4c02429f":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile with a cream velvet ground composed of two rectangular pieces. The entire surface is decorated with Arab writing and vegetal motifs.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"1901–1925","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"208 x 163 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design; Islamic influence"],"materials":["Silk; stencilled decoration"],"artist":"Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo"},"2dd5e058-db6d-5ca4-b1c8-b47beedc0811":{"name":"Fragment from a tiraz.","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.  \nThe 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.'  \nOn 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.'  \nThe *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.","short_description":"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.","type":"Fatimid textile, linen, silk","holder":"Ribat Museum.","dates":"Hegira, last quarter of the 4th–first third of the 5th centuries / AD 10th–11th centuries.","location":"Monastir.","dimensions":"Oblong, length 55 cm x 24 cm.","method_for_datation":"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.","method_for_provenance":"The weaving method and the ownership by a Fatimid *caliph* both indicate that the cloth was made in Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"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.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Mourad Rammah","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"David Ash","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Tiraz; calligraphy; Fatimid textiles; workshop; embroidery"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with silk."]},"2e0c64a2-e482-5978-b566-da5cfa44d782":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"This fragment shows a typical motif with carnations placed in staggered rows and made with silver metal-wrapped threads on the dark red velvet ground.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 66 cm, length 165 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Velvet; fabric; textile; Ottoman textiles; floral motifs"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"2e8eab67-4f84-5396-9c42-cb536c546cdd":{"name":"Body towel (*Peştamal*)","description":"The border, embroidered with metallic and coloured threads at both ends, is worked in a medallion style. Between three metallic floral and leaf motifs, a single metallic cypress motif is placed.","type":"Fabric","holder":"İznik Museum Directorate","dates":"AH 13th / AD 19th century","location":"Bursa","dimensions":"Length: 175cm, width: 91cm","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["Water; towel; embroidery;  Ottomans; cotton"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"310e79cc-ee2c-5e1c-89d1-fcfcb20cf00e":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Holy Ka‘ba in Makkah al-Mukarramah","short_description":"This curtain, known as *sitara*, *burdah* or *burqa* and embroidered with qur’anic quotations, forms the most elaborate part of the *kiswah* textile cover which encloses the Holy Ka‘ba in Makkah. This example was made under the patronage of King Fahd ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, who ascended the throne in AH 1405 / AD 1985.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation","dates":"Hegira after 1405 / AD 1985","location":"Sharjah","provenance":"Makkah al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia","dynasty":"Saudi Arabia","keywords":["Curtain; Door; Holy Ka'ba; Makkah al-Mukarramah; Textile; patronage; pilgrimage; hajj"]},"316cb158-b737-5946-b4f5-2c1e7c67bb07":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile decorated with floral and geometrical motifs, very similar to those of the Alhambra Palace.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1350","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"36 x 23 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid influence; Collecting; Design"],"materials":["Silk and metallic thread; lampas weave with a satin ground"],"artist":"Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo"},"328d4cd7-8859-5b3d-96c3-05fe9c191bbc":{"name":"Textiles","description":"These textiles were part of the famous Alhambra wall hangings that decorated different Alhambra rooms. Each is from a different Nasrid king: Yusuf I (textile 1607), Muhammad III (textile 1606) and Muhammad V (textile 1719).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Nasrid period (1232-1492); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"1694: 103,5 x 41 cm; 1607: 17,8 x 11,2 cm; 1719: 102 x 77,5 cm; 1606: 40,5 x 18,6 cm","provenance":"Granada?","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art; islamic influence; orientalism; collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; lampas weave"]},"33c038eb-514c-5d28-8576-edfccf3f87e8":{"name":"Fragment of silk lampas with geometric pattern","short_description":"Since the 12th century, Granada has been the leading centre of the Pyrenees for the production of high quality silk. This costly golden-thread silk lampas dated to the 14th century could be used as interior decoration in one of the Granada palaces. A very similar fabric is known to be used for interior decoration in the famous Alhambra Palace.  \nThe geometric pattern includes favourite Muslim motifs: octagonal stars and rosettes, braids, stylized plant elements. Historians suppose the common origin of the textile décor with that of Nasrid architecture and, first of all, with the carved and mosaic ornamental panels of Alhambra.  \nQuite rare is the motif of paired heraldic birds sitting in the tree branches. It may be hypothetically considered as an image of Simurg (Senmurv), the holy King of the birds in the folklore of Iranians and Turks. The literate Muslims of Nasrid Spain were well versed in the key narratives of the Near and Middle East culture due to Arabic translations of books, particularly of Abu l-Qasim Ferdowsi's poem Book of Kings (\"*Shahnama*\").","type":"Fabric; Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD 14th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 46.5cm, Width: 32.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by M. Vyazmitina (publication, 1930, date and origin), H. Rudyk (examination, 2017, date and origin specified).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Granada, Islamic Spain","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalized by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Dodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed), *Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain*, exhibition catalogue, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992.  \nVyazmitina, M. (ed), *Mystetstvo krain islamu (Art from Islamic Countries)*, catalogue, VUAN Museum of Art, Kyiv: All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 1930.","dynasty":"Nasrid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Fabrics; Silk; Lampas; Islamic Spain; Granada; Nasrid"],"materials":["Silk, metal thread; lampas weaving"]},"34a076dd-a17c-5255-8e20-be760dc55f04":{"name":"Kilim (fragment)","description":"The fragment shown here is the upper right corner of a two-panel, large format Central Anatolian kilim, of which only this part of one panel has survived. Such pieces were produced for personal use and were part of the dowry. They served primarily as a representative cover for bedding and containers and were stacked directly opposite the tent entrance, clearly visible to any guest entering the tent. The fragment of this white-ground Konya kilim, with its massive hook motif, features individual scattered motifs in brocaded technique, which indicate the weaving direction of this slit tapestry. It shows the subdued coloration typical of the Konya region in the early 19th century.","type":"Cover/hanging","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"19th century, probably first half","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 123cm, Width: 99cm","provenance":"Central Anatolian, Konya region","obtention":"Donated in 1979 by Dresden painter Wilhelm Müller (1928–99) from his private collection with intent to begin a museum collection. In the last decade before the Berlin Wall came down Müller collected oriental rugs, carpets and flat weaves for the Ethnographic Museum of Dresden in the Dresden-Leipzig-Berlin region to secure remaining rural and nomadic textiles from the 19th and beginning 20th century. Textiles were acquired from private households, private and state shops and even from demolition sites or waste containers.","bibliography":"Brüggemann, W. and Foitl, G., *Yayla: Form und Farbe in türkischer Textilkunst*, Frankfurt am Main: Museum für Kunsthandwerk, 1993: plate 60.  \nFrauenknecht, B., *Anatolische Kelims / Anatolian Kilims*, Nuremberg: Galerie Frauenknecht, 1982: no.17.  \nFrauenknecht, B. with Franses, M. and Mellart, J., *Early Turkish Tapestries / Frühe Türkische Tapisserien*, Nuremberg: Bertram Frauenknecht, 1984: plate 38.  \nPetsopoulos, Y. (ed) and Balpinar, B., *100 Kelims: Meisterwerke aus Anatolien*, Munich: Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, 1991: 76.","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Fragment; Konya; Kilim"],"materials":["Wool; slit tapestry weave, floating wefts"]},"356abb7a-adfb-5423-8a02-b389733f2355":{"name":"Textile","description":"Velvet with silver stencilled decorations of arabesques with starts of six points. These decorations recalled the plaster decorations of the Spanish Muslim interiors.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"295 x 69 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design; Islamic influence; Nasrid influence"],"materials":["Cotton and metal, velvet"],"artist":"Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo"},"35d28d2d-69ab-5ec0-a006-32f2135420d3":{"name":"Textile with prayer niche (*mihrab*).","description":"The fabric, made of red, black and yellow-brown silk, is decorated with motifs embroidered with silver- and gold-plated copper wire woven into a cotton base. The basic decorative element consists of a large prayer niche (*mihrab*), at the centre of which, at the top, there hangs a mosque lamp. Above and beside it there are scrolls containing decorative epigraphic motifs. The background of the fabric, with the exclusion of the inside of the niche where there are naturalistic floral motifs, is decorated with arabesque elements consisting of intertwined palmettes of various shapes or half-palmettes surrounded by spirals.","short_description":"This fabric, embroidered with metal thread and decorated with a prayer niche (*mihrab*), a large mosque lamp and epigraphic motifs, is typical of late Ottoman textile production.","type":"Silk, satin, metal thread","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 12th–13th century / AD 18th–19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 265 cm, width 160 cm.","method_for_datation":"The suggested dating and origin of the object are based on the decorative style, which relates to late Ottoman textile production (12th–13th / 18th–19th centuries).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Barista, H. ö., “Turkish Embroideries: Later Period of The Ottoman Empire”, *Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art*, Warsaw, 1990, pp.37–42.  \nGönül, M., “Some Turkish Embroideries in the Collection of the Topkapisaray Museum in Istanbul”, *Kunst des Orients*, 1969, VI, pp.43–76.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textile; embroidery; floral decoration; prayer niche; mihrab; calligraphy"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with metal thread."]},"3617cdf7-a6c7-5a09-b369-f188ba752294":{"name":"Two fragments of brocade with parrot, butterfly, deer and hare pattern","short_description":"Two nearly equal in size square-shaped fragments of figured silk brocade are stitched together on a support. \"A flower and a bird\", a favourite love theme in Persian culture, is further developed here through adding images of butterfly, deer and hare. Incorrectness in scales of animals indicates a semantic hierarchy in which the bird and the flower remain the most important.  Persian silver and golden-thread brocades and other elite textiles were the key item of Iranian artistic production and exports during the Safavid era, being the height of fashion both among Iranian and European aristocracy, as well as Christian clergy.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","owner":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"First half of AD 17th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 42cm, Width: 88cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by H. Rudyk (publication, 2017, date, origin).","method_for_provenance":"Ассording to the entry in the Old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko.","bibliography":"Canby, Sheila R., *The Golden Age of Persian Art, 1501–1722*, New York: Abrams, 2000.  \nFloor, Willem, *The Persian Textile Industry in Historical Perspective, 1500–1925*, Paris: Harmattan, 1999.  \nRudyk, H. (ed), *Charisma of Iran. Persian art of 12th–19th centuries from museum collections of Ukraine*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2017.  \nThompson, Jon with Shaffer, Daniel and Mildh, Pirjetta (eds), *Carpets and Textiles in the Iranian World 1400–1700*, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2010.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Brocade; Iran; Safavid"],"materials":["Silk, metal-wrapped thread; brocaded"]},"37c92bab-1f2f-56f9-9546-859ab0fb7525":{"name":"Textile fragment, green with gold-coloured floral scrolls","short_description":"This textile fragment came into the museum’s textile collection through the purchase of textile artefacts negotiated by the Aachen Canon Franz Bock in 1865. The decoration of the fragment consists of stylised flowers and palmettes. During the Middle Ages, valuable mobile artefacts such as textiles arrived from east to west on the trade routes or through the custom of diplomatic gifts. The repertoire of motifs and forms of these textiles reveal the influence of various cultures.","type":"Central Asian textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"14th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 34cm, W: 35.7cm","provenance":"Central Asia","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Bock, Franz, *Katalog der ehemaligen Bock'schen Sammlung von Webereien und Stickereien des Mittelalters und der Renaissance*, (Jetzt Eigenthum des k. k. Oesterreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie), Vienna: Gerold, 1865.","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-90140","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Textile fragments; Central Asia; Silk; floral decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gilt membrane strip"]},"38408d83-304f-5d3b-ba1f-3b4dc4fb028b":{"name":"Curtain for the *minbar* of the Meccan sanctuary, with the name of King Faruq I of Egypt","short_description":"This is an exceptionally fine example of the high quality of embroidery produced by the craftsmen of Dar al-Kiswa in the mid 20th century. Very few curtains for the Meccan *minbar* survive, and none of the known examples predates the early 20th century. This is probably one of the last ones made, as Egypt stopped sending curtains for the Meccan *minbar* around that time.  \n  \nThe top panel is inscribed, ‘God Almightly said in his revered book’. The three lines below have *sura al-Jumu‘a* (LXII), verse 9, which appropriately mentions the call to prayer on Fridays. The last panel states that ‘This sitara for the minbar of the sacred House of God was ordered by him who depends on God, the king of Egypt Faruq I, may God grant him succor, in the year 1365’.","type":"Textile; Mecca *minbar* curtain; *sitara*; *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1365 / AD 1946","location":"London","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","obtention":"Christie’s, London, sale of 26 April 2012, lot 360.","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nRif‘at Pasha, Ibrahim, *Mir’at al-haramayn*, vol. 1, Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, 1925: figure 96 (between pp.255–6).","dynasty":"House of Muhammad ‘Ali","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Minbar; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Dark blue silk, with beige silk appliqués, relief-embroidered in silver wire over cotton thread padding"]},"3e86a5e0-7d9c-53ee-a0db-449ac4bf412d":{"name":"Hand-towel (*Peşkir*)","description":"A densely woven, cream-coloured cotton towel with fringed short edges. The border is embroidered in red thread with a running water motif. The main border features six stylised floral motifs worked in sequence. The embroidery employs the counted-thread technique using green, pink, brown, purple, yellow, and red threads. The towel is stained in places.","type":"Fabric","holder":"Aydın Museum Directorate","dates":"AH late 13th-early 14th / AD late 19th-early 20th century","location":"Aydın","dimensions":"Height: 72.5cm, width: 53cm","place_of_production":"Aydın","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["Water; hand-towel; Ottomans; cotton"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"4110beeb-d623-5316-b3ea-13f8ecd8e3db":{"name":"Mahmal","short_description":"This ceremonial *mahmal* consists of a tent-like cotton cloth embroidered with gold and silver threads. Placed upon a wooden frame (litter) on a camel’s back, the *mahmal* would bear the *kiswa* (Kaaba covering) and other religious items to Mecca in a pilgrimage procession.  \n  \nThis example from Ottoman Turkey features the Mamluk yellow colour embellished with the Throne verse *(Ayat al-Kursi)*, the Muslim invocation (*Basmala*), and the declaration of faith *(Shahada)* in *thuluth* calligraphy. The signature of the Ottoman sultan is visible in *tughra* script.  \n  \nDuring the *hajj* or pilgrimage season, the caravan would parade the streets of Cairo in a festival accompanied by musicians before embarking on the journey to Saudi Arabia. The *mahmal* reminds of a wedding procession and carries feminine connotations through its familiarity with the *howdaj* used to transport women hidden away from the public eye.  \n  \nMuslim rulers would commission a *mahmal* in an opportunity to highlight their sovereignty, taste and piety. Although the legend of Mamluk Sultanah Fatima Shajarat al-Durr associated the ruler with the first *mahmal*, scholars debate the first appearance with earlier references recounting Zubaydah, the wife of Harum al Rashid, using a palanquin in a pilgrimage procession from Baghdad to Mecca.","type":"Religious relics","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"19th century","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 164cm, Width: 130cm, Height: 148.5cm","place_of_production":"Turkey","method_for_datation":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, embroidery and style.","method_for_provenance":"This mahmal was used to carry the kiswa to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.","provenance":"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mecca","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Behrens-Abouseif, D., \"The mahmal legend and the pilgrimage of the ladies of the Mamluk court\", *Mamluk Studies Review*, 1 (1997): 87–96.  \nSardi, M., \"Weaving for the Hajj under the Mamluks\", *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, (2013): 169-174.  \nWasti, S. T., \"The Ottoman Ceremony of the Royal Purse:, *Middle Eastern Studies*, 41 : 2 (2005): 193–200.  \nYoung, W., \"The Kaʿba, Gender, and the Rites of Pilgrimage\", *International Journal of Middle East Studies*, 25: 2 (1993): 285–300.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Saudi Arabia; Kiswa; Kaaba; Mahmal; Mecca; Textiles"],"materials":["Cotton, silk, gold, silver; embroidery"]},"4454c9bf-8d06-539a-b793-d2ce0b56e6f8":{"name":"Pearl Diver’s Nose Clip","short_description":"This simple, but effective nose clip, known as futam (pl. aftama) in the Gulf region, was traditionally made of horn, wood or occasionally tortoise shell. Historical sources reaching back to the 4th century H/ 10th century AD already describe the clips' distinctive 'arrow' or 'scissor' shape, which remained largely unchanged until modern times. Equipped only with his noseclip, finger guards (khubat), occasionally a protective suit against jelly fish (libas al-ghaws) and a basket or bag (dyyin) for the oysters, a pearl diver would descend 50-60 times every day to bring up as many oysters as he could.","type":"Horn pearl diver's nose clip on cotton string","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Length of the horn nose clip c. 60 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["futam, aftama; khubat; libas al-ghawas; dyyin"],"materials":["Horn and cotton string"],"artist":"Unknown"},"44836d48-50be-5459-bb62-c61172746432":{"name":"Festive women's dress from Ma'an","description":"The most vibrant costumes in Jordan originate from Ma'an, a historic crossroads for traders and pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the Hajj. This festive women's dress, distinguished by its striking combination of colours and textiles, is constructed from striped cashmere saya fabric and Syrian ikat in a bold zigzag pattern.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1925","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 158 cm; width: 138 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Textile, Clothing; Hajj; Pilgrimage; Tradition"],"materials":["Silk"]},"449540fc-d407-5cab-94fb-482eb3398f8e":{"name":"Horse Caparison with Design of Floral Morifs","short_description":"A horse caparison whose surface is divided into bands and narrow strips containing floral motifs. The ornament of the bands consists of a repeat pattern of floral devices in yellow, red, green, and light and dark blue, on a white, yellow, and blue ground, or of a wavy scroll bearing rosettes, leaves, and buds in the above colors on a red or blue ground. The narrow strips have a wavy floral scroll. The design of the border and of the guard stripes is identical to that of the field. The wool is woven in the *Soumak* tapestry technique.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 188cm x Width: 157.5cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Iran, Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Horse; Caparison; Textile; Wool; Iran; Asia; Persian"],"materials":["Wool"]},"461e1b34-d976-5ed9-8d53-d69810250d6c":{"name":"Tomb cover.","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.  \nIn 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.","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.","type":"Ottoman carpet, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 231 cm, width 78 cm.","method_for_datation":"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).","method_for_provenance":"Funerary textiles of this type are ascribed to Ottoman Turkey (see Atasoy *et. al*, 2000; *Türkische Kunst*, 1985).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchased from Lisbet Holmes Ltd., London in 1981.","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.  \nBlair, 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).  \nScarce, J., *Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior*, Edinburgh, 1996, p.106 (where item is illustrated).  \n*Türkische Kunst und Kultur aus osmanischer Zeit*, exhibition catalogue, Recklinghausen, 1985, p.265, cat. no. 5/18.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Shahada; kiswa; funerary object"],"materials":["Woven silk rendered in red, green and gold."]},"461e827a-157a-5afd-aba7-850f0e156798":{"name":"Banner","short_description":"Inscribed with the names of God, the Prophet Muhammad and the first four leaders of the Muslim community, and bordered by Qur’anic verses, this silk *sanjak* (shield-shaped banner) displays a two-bladed sword with a dragon-headed hilt. Referred to as Dhu’l Fiqar and associated with military victory, this sword is said to have belonged to ‘Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. While Ottoman banners similar to this one were used as military insignia from the 15th century onward, this example bears an early 19th century date, and may have been borne instead by the faithful during pilgrimage to Mecca.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Dated Hegira 1235 / AD 1819–20","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 294cm, W: 217.2cm","provenance":"Probably Istanbul, Turkey","obtention":"Fletcher Fund, 1976  \nVendor: Ahuan Islamic Art, Panama  \nFormer owner: Private collection, France (before 1939–1976; sale, Hôtel Drouot Rive Gauche)  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Ahuan Islamic Art, Panama, 1976; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Ekhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 326–27, no. 232, ill. 326 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, *How to Read Islamic Calligraphy*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018: 15, 17, ill. fig. 4.  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 1976-1977, Complete List 1976-1977\", *Archives of Asian Art*, XXXI (1977–1978): 139.  \nPhipps, Elena, \"Cochineal Red: The Art History of a colour\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, (Winter 2010): 44, ill. fig. 75 (colour).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1976","keywords":["Ottoman; Istanbul; Turkey; Anatolia; textile; Ottoman textile; silk; lampas weave; brocade; Arabic inscription; thuluth; Shi'a; calligraphy; cloth; cypress; fabric; gold; hajj; inscription; Ottoman silk; religious object; sword; symbol; textile"],"materials":["Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas, brocaded"]},"4884a720-8e5b-52db-b680-609daaf48e72":{"name":"Flag of the Italian Socialist Party’s local branch in a small village near Turin (Cafasse Torinese), bearing the image of a worker breaking a sword (an icon of antimilitarism)","short_description":"The Italian Socialist Party opposed Italian participation in World War I. After the government and the King decided to enter the war on the side of French and Britain, the Socialist’s Party line became “né aderire, né sabotare” (neither support, nor sabotage). Anti-war sentiments remained widespread among workers and peasants. In August 1917, without any prior organisation by the Socialist Party or by the trade union, spontaneous bread riots erupted in Turin: women led marchers that demanded bread and the end of the war, and they looted shops and barracks. Such protests were harshly repressed.  \nWar casualties were very high: 650,000 military deaths, 950,000 wounded, 600.000 prisoners of war or missing.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"1920","location":"Rome","dimensions":"84 x 95 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"48f83022-a45d-5b11-b4e5-88c259a5ca69":{"name":"Textile fragment","short_description":"This textile exhibits bands of varying patterns including interlacing calligraphic inscriptions. Here, the texts convey wishes for happiness, good fortune and prosperity. The hues of the brightly-coloured fragment, with its contrasting red, green and gold, characterize the textiles produced during the Nasrid and later periods in Spain and North Africa. Its appearance is in sharp contrast to textiles produced in earlier periods, which exhibit a lighter, more delicate palette of minty greens, light blues and a heavy use of golden metal-wrapped threads.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira c. 7th century / AD 14th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 102cm, W: 36.3cm; Mount: L: 114.9cm, W: 50.2cm, D: 2.5cm","provenance":"Probably Spain","obtention":"Fletcher Fund, 1929  \nVendor: Adolph Loewi, Venice  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Adolph Loewi, Venice, until 1929; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Aanavi, Don, \"Western Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 27/ 3 (November 1968): 200, ill. (b/w).  \nAli, Wijdan, *The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art : From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries*, Jordan: The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan, 1999: 109, ill. fig. 61 (b/w).  \nDimand, Maurice S., *A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930: 228–29, ill. fig. 142 (b/w).  \nDimand, Maurice S., *A Handbook of Muhammadan Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944: 276, ill. fig. 184 (b/w).  \nDodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed), Grabar, Oleg, Vallejo Triano, Antonio, Walker, Daniel S., Holod, Renata, Robinson, Cynthia, Zozaya, Juan, Casamar Pérez, Manuel, Ewert, Christian, Rossello Bordoy, Guillermo, Partearroyo, Cristina, Al Khemir, Sabiha, Cabanelas Rodriguez, Dario, Dickie, James, Bermudez Lopez, Jesus, Fairchild Ruggles, D., and Vernet, Juan, *Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 335, no. 97, ill. (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 56, 81–82, no. 48, ill. 81 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam and Moore, Claire (ed), *Art of the Islamic World. A Resource for Educators*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012: 82–83, 118–19, ill. pls. 13, 22.  \nGarcía Millán, Noemi, *Ibn Khaldun: The Mediterranean in the 14th Century. Rise and Fall of Empires. Vol. 2*, Seville: Real Alcazar, 2006: 160–61, ill. 161 (colour).  \nWalker, Daniel S., Ponce Guadián, Arturo, Babaie, Sussan, Carboni, Stefano, Froom, Aimee, Swietochowski, Marie Lukens, Masuya, Tomoko, Daskalakis-Matthews, Annie Christine, Kahil, Abdallah and Kessler, Rochelle, *Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994-Enero de 1995*, Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994: 274–75, no. 115, ill. 275 (colour).  \nWelch, Stuart Cary, *The Islamic World. Vol. 11*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987: 65, ill. fig. 47 (colour).","dynasty":"Nasrid","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fletcher Fund, 1929","keywords":["Nasrids; Spain; silk; lampas; textile; fragment; abstract decoration; Al-Andalus; architectural motifs; geometric decoration; geometric design; geometric patterns; inscription; kufic; nashki; thuluth; Isalmic Spain; script; textile fragment"],"materials":["Silk; lampas"]},"4a45199e-3af5-504d-9932-a1e4ed67dc93":{"name":"Printed cotton textile fragment.","description":"This cotton textile fragment is decorated with a printed design distributed along two bands. The upper band is narrow and consists of a repeated inscription in Mamluk *thuluth* script which reads: 'Al-sabr ni'm al-nasir li kul shay'in akhir' ('Patience is blessed with success and everything has an end'). The inscription is executed in a style where the letters are interwoven and the bases are raised in such a manner that equidistant spaces are created between them. These spaces are adorned by decorative units consisting of plaited lines in the form of braids.  \nThe lower band is wider than the upper and decorated with ornamentation distributed along four rows, consisting of two repeating and alternating decorative units: an eight-pointed star and a circular form within which are two concentric circles. The stars and circles in each row are organised so that the arrangement in the preceding row is opposite to that which follows. Each star is decorated with stylised floral designs, whereas the outer circle of the roundel is ornamented with a braided pattern, followed on the inside by a series of consecutive dots, which are followed in turn by the decorative form called '*Dawama'* (vortex). This is a decorative form that was widespread in Mamluk art especially in ornamental metal objects.  \nEgypt was famed for printed cotton textiles during the Mamluk period which was greatly influenced by trade with India, from where Egypt imported printed cotton clothing as well as raw cotton. The Mamluk craftsmen knew many different printing techniques, amongst which was wood-block printing with raised and sunken designs, and wax-resist wood-block printing. This textile fragment might have been part of a dress, curtain or perhaps more likely to have come from the cover of a counterpane, as it is comparable to a similar one housed in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.","short_description":"The weaving industry in Mamluk Cairo included cotton and silk textiles. Some textiles were embroidered with silk while others, like this cotton piece, were block-printed. It bears a well-known expression indicating that patience is the best policy.","type":"Printing, textile, cotton","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 8th century / AD 14th century.","location":"Cairo","dimensions":"Length 41 cm, width 36 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile fragment was dated based on the style of the inscription, written in the Mamluk *thuluth* script. The similarities of the decorative components on this piece to other designs, especially on dated metal objects, also helped to narrow the time frame of its manufacture, especially the decorative motif known as '*Dawama'*. Furthermore, the word 'Nasir' which appears in the inscription, might be an reference to Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun who ruled in the latter half of the 7th / 13th century and throughout the first four decades – with the exception of almost one year – of the 8th / 14th century.","method_for_provenance":"The type of decorative motif found on this textile fragment was used frequently by Mamluk craftsmen. Furthermore Egypt was famed for its printed cotton textiles.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The textile was purchased in 1928 from a dealer in antiquities, Albert Abimayo.","bibliography":"Atil, E., *Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks,* Washington D.C., 1987.  \nBaker, P., *Islamic Textiles,* London, 1995.  \nHamdi, A., et al, *Katalog Ma'rid al-fan al-islāmi fi misr \\[Catalogue of the Islamic Art Exhibition in Egypt\\],* Cairo, 1969.  \nMaher, S., *Al-Nasij al-Islami \\[Islamic textiles\\]*, Cairo, 1977.  \nPfister, R., **Les toiles imprimées de Fostat et l'Hindoustan**, Paris, 1938.","dynasty":"Mamluk","linkcatalogs":"IAM_EG_EN_001","author":"Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Selim","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Thuluth; vortex; printing; cotton; printed cotton; textile."],"materials":["Cotton plain-woven and decorated with monochrome stamped block-printing."]},"4ce02a11-07e9-50f5-a7d7-3651d7dd3510":{"name":"Textile fragment with cockerel medallions.","description":"A plain-woven silk textile fragment thought to come from a shirt. The weave has a pattern inlaid with extra wefts of silver and gold strips in the manner of brocading. The colour scheme is predominantly red, with detailing in blue and yellow. The design consists of lozenge-shaped cartouches formed from individual flowers, these enclose octagons with red, yellow and blue outlines and a central cockerel, facing left. The spaces in between the lozenges are filled with decorative bands formed from an alternating pattern of large stars and small octagons with central star motifs.","short_description":"The Muslim world was famous for its textile production, which built on Sassanid and Byzantine traditions and soon excelled these in sophistication and complexity. Court-sponsored workshops in Iraq, Iran, Egypt and later Spain competed to produce the most splendid silks as symbols of power and wealth.","type":"Woven silk textile","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 4th–5th century / AD 11th–12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 35.5 cm, width 22.8 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been dated tentatively to the 4th–5th / AD 11th–12th century on the basis of its clear stylistic relationship with post-Sasanian and early Islamic textiles.","method_for_provenance":"This textile has been associated with Abbasid Iraq on the basis of its clear stylistic relationship with post-Sassanid and early Islamic textiles from the region.","provenance":"Possibly Baghdad, Iraq.","obtention":"Purchased from Maurice Nahman, Paris, in 1934.","dynasty":"Abbasid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Baghdad; silk; geometric decoration"],"materials":["Woven silk with silver and gold threads."]},"4dd47636-3e12-5dc6-a5e7-714bce7a0020":{"name":"Canopy with lotus roundels","short_description":"A spectacular example of Indian silk weaving, this textile has possibly the widest loom-width of any known samite. A textile such as this, with a width in excess of 3 metres, would have stretched the effort and expense of drawloom weaving to their limits. Apart from the extreme technical difficulty of weaving a samite of this scale, the very high quality of yarns, dyes and workmanship suggest that it could have been woven only in the controlled production environment of a royal workshop.  \nA textile of this size would have been used as a canopy or ceiling cloth for a congregation hall or chapel at one of Tibet’s Buddhist establishments. However, this particular example, with its abstract roundels, could have served equally well as the ceiling of a royal tent at any Indian court.","type":"Textile; silk; samite (*samit*); canopy","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"AD 17th century","location":"London","dimensions":"250 x 318cm","method_for_datation":"Date and provenance are based on stylistic and technical grounds.","provenance":"India","bibliography":"Jain, R., in *Textiles, Carpets and Costumes*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume 14, Part Two. \\[In preparation / forthcoming\\]","dynasty":"Mughal","keywords":["India; Mughal; silk; textile"],"materials":["Silk samite"]},"517b9478-f631-507d-9c9f-4381e1f51b61":{"name":"Textile Panel","short_description":"Most of the textiles that survive from Fatimid Egypt, mainly fragments, were made or reused as burial shrouds and were preserved on account of the dryness of the Egyptian climate. This comparatively large panel may therefore derive from a funerary context; to compensate for areas of loss, it appears to have been pieced together in modern times from four parts of the same cloth, suggesting the original panel was once much longer. Its materials (bleached linen and silk), tapestry-weave technique, and bands of geometric decoration all mark it as a product of the Fatimid period. There are several bands of inscription that can be read as a repetition of “Help from Allah,” but because it lacks a royal or historical inscription, this cloth was likely made for a humbler clientele rather than for the ruling elite. However, it is otherwise very similar in style and manufacture to the so-called Cadouin Shroud (Abbey of Cadouin, France), inscribed in the name of the caliph al-Musta‘lī (r. Hegira 487-495/ AD 1094–1101).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira late 5th century / AD late 11th-early 12th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"85.4 x 84.5cm","method_for_datation":"Although it lacks an historical inscription, it is similar to the so-called Cadouin Shroud, inscribed in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-Musta‘lī (Hegira 487-495 / AD 1094–1101).","method_for_provenance":"The materials, tapestry-weave technique, and bands of geometric decoration mark it as a product of the Fatimid Egypt.","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mallon (1884-1975, and 1890-1968, respectively), New York, until 1947 (sold to); LACMA, through the Hearst Foundation Fund.","bibliography":"Komaroff, Linda, *Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016: 124-125, cat. No. 55.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["Fatimid; panel; linen; silk; geometric decoration; inscription"],"materials":["Linen plain weave, linen with silk weft-faced tapestry weave"]},"517f2c6d-9b8c-5c89-b704-834aeb01c0f0":{"name":"Tiraz","short_description":"Textiles from the first centuries of the Islamic era survive mainly in the form of fragments, including *tiraz*, with their characteristic embroidered or woven inscriptions supplying the name and titles of the ruler. Such cloth was produced in state factories and was the exclusive preserve of the caliph. This piece belongs to the Tulunid period (Hegira 254–292 / AD 868–905) in Egypt, where most of the surviving *tiraz* were discovered. It is one of the largest such examples; however, the inscription is too fragmentary to be read.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira second half of the 3rd century–4th century / AD second half of the 9th century–10th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"30.2 x 123.8cm","method_for_datation":"The linen is undyed while the wool wefts are mustard, olive green and black, which are all typical of the Tulunid period. The letters comprising the *kufic* text are consonant with Tulunid architectural inscriptions as for example the wood inscribed panels from the mosque of Ibn Tulun, in Fustat, completed in Hegira 265 / AD 879.","method_for_provenance":"Most surviving *tiraz* come from Egypt, in this instance perhaps from a workshop of the Nile Delta.","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Collection of Maan Z. Madina (1926-2013), New York, until 2002 (sold to); LACMA, The Madina Collection of Islamic Art, gift of Camilla Chandler Frost.","bibliography":"Komaroff, Linda, “Islamic Art from the Madina Collection,” *Arts and the Islamic World*, 3 : 3 (1985): 60-62, fig. 2.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Gifts of the Sultan: The Art of Giving at the Islamic Courts*, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2011: 211, fig. 203.","dynasty":"Tulunid","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["Royal manufacture; workshop; wool; linen; calligraphy; inscription; Tulunid; textile"],"materials":["Wool and linen, tapestry-woven; linen warps and wool and linen wefts"]},"54253d73-c552-552c-b44e-749462babb24":{"name":"Embroidered linen.","description":"An embroidered textile thought to have served either as a cover for a divan (low sofa seat); a quilt facing; or as a hanging such as a curtain for a door. It is made up of three vertical lengths of linen sewn together and embroidered. The composition of wavy stems, leaves and tulips is inspired by AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman velvets, brocades and woven silks. The silk-thread colours of red, green, blue and yellow are typical of the time; the stitch used is a regular darning stitch with the length of four counted threads over the linen, and one under it. Red dominates the composition, covering most of the stems, all of the tulips, and some of the leaves. The blue is used on the leaves and the green is used to embroider the bases of the tulips and some of the stems. The yellow, which has largely faded, is used to fill in some of the gaps between all the other colours in the shapes of strokes and small buds. This textile has a border designed with a row of smaller red tulips and green stems with blue leaves, and yellow strokes and buds which alternate in their leaning, bending once to the right and once to the left.  \n  \nSilk embroidery of the AH 11th / AD 17th century was a cheaper option for those who wanted to enjoy sumptuous textiles, given that woven-silk fabrics were much more expensive. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between embroideries made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade. The pattern on this embroidery indicates that it was most probably made professionally in a workshop, because the pattern relates strongly to similar designs found on AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century velvets.","short_description":"This boldly embroidered linen textile with coloured silk threads may have been used as a cover for a divan, a quilt facing, or a hanging such as a curtain for a doorway. Lavishly embroidered pieces that are influenced by velvets, like this one, were relatively more affordable than woven-silk fabrics.","type":"Ottoman textile","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 211 cm, width 130 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on 10th- and 11th- / 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman velvets.","method_for_provenance":"The pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on Turkish Ottoman velvets.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Domestic furnishing; floral decoration; commerce"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with coloured silk threads."]},"550798b2-2ff6-5c87-b3f5-df183a1a2b89":{"name":"Bridal cushions","description":"Bridal cushions from Ma’an, Jordan, traditionally prepared by a bride as part of her trousseau for her new home, are among the most distinctive examples of Jordanian domestic textiles. Their fabrics and techniques reflect connections with textile traditions from the Caucasus, Syria, Turkey, and Central Asia, shaped through centuries of travel, trade, pilgrimage, and cultural exchange. These influences reached Ma’an through its position as an important crossroads on regional routes, particularly as a key stop along the Hejaz Railway, built during the Ottoman period to facilitate travel between Damascus and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The background image is from the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress, showing the Hejaz Railway, which connected communities across the Ottoman Empire and facilitated movement for travellers, pilgrims, and merchants between the Levant and the Hijaz.","type":"Furniture","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 64-70 cm; width: 35-40 cm","place_of_production":"Ma'an, Jordan","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Furniture; Marriage; Wedding; Ceremony; Textile"],"materials":["Cotton, silk"]},"55bb16e8-b3ef-5f94-b1f1-f81a6e6d3cb7":{"name":"Textile fragment with *cintamani* motifs","short_description":"The silk fragment with red ground is patterned with horizontally aligned, offset waved lines. Growing out of these is a stylised bunch of flowers, its centre formed by a pink. The waved lines together form three circles arranged into a triangle, the Ottoman *cintamani* motif, which on this silk fragment is additionally flanked by two cloud bands.","type":"Ottaman textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"16th -17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 44cm, W: 68.5cm","provenance":"Ottoman Empire, Istanbul or Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-93010","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Ottoman textile; Geometric patterns; Foral motifs; floral decoration; Ottoman costume; chintamani"],"materials":["Silk, gilt lamella; Satin broché"]},"568aa288-3d05-5bf2-9461-11f5d3c78666":{"name":"*Portrait of Charles of Bourbon*","description":"The Portrait of Charles of Bourbon (Charles III of Spain), one of a pair together with a portrait depicting Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, now lost, is one of the first creations of the Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples.  \nFounded by the young King in 1737, soon after his arrival in Naples, the tapestry factory, together with a factory for the carving of semiprecious stones, was one of the first established by order of Charles of Bourbon. This decision must have been influenced by the young Charles’ interest in the Medici factories that were still operating in Florence. This interest developed when the future King stayed in the city in 1732, as the future successor to Gian Gastone de’ Medici.  \nIn fact, a small group of Florentine weavers and carvers of precious stones was responsible for giving life to the first two royal Bourbon factories in Naples, located near the church of San Carlo alle Mortelle. The factory, which was also composed of a local workforce, with the aim of promoting the development of new artistic techniques in the Kingdom of Naples, was under the direction of the Florentine Domenico del Rosso. And it was to the Florentine weaver that Charles entrusted his portrait and that of his consort; as with other items produced during the initial phase of the factories, these works were intended to celebrate the King and their patron. Production of the tapestry was completed in 1741, as indicated by the presence of the signature and date on the bottom right-hand edge of the tapestry: “DOM.CO D. L. ROSSO 1741”. The artist who provided the preparatory study for the tapestry is unknown; however, there is speculation that it may have been Giovan Battista delle Piane, who was a court portrait painter during these years; or Francesco Solimena, based on the tapestry’s extraordinary expressiveness and the intensity of the light and the colours in its original state.","type":"Bourbon manufacturing","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1739–1741","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 237cm, W: 174cm","method_for_datation":"Signed and dated: “DOM.CO D. L. ROSSO 1741”","method_for_provenance":"Inventories","provenance":"Naples","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"Giusti, Paola, *1737‒1759: Le Manifatture Reali al tempo di Carlo di Borbone*, in *Carlo di Borbone. Un sovrano illuminato per Napoli*, Naples: arte’m, 2016: 39.  \nMartino, Linda, *Museo di Capodimonte*, Milan: Touring Club Italiano, 2002: 221 (illustrated).  \nSiniscalco, Margherita, *Civiltà del '700 a Napoli. 1734‒1799*, vol. 2, Florence: Centro Di, Firenze, 1980: 97 (illustrated).  \nSpinosa, Nicola, *L’Arazzeria napoletana*, Naples: Libreria Scientifica Editrice, 1971.","workshop":"Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples (1737–1806)","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Tapestry; Portrait; Charles of Bourbon; Charles III of Spain; Royal Tapestry Factory in Naples; Don Carlos; Neapolitan Church of San Carlo delle Mortelle; Domenico Rosso; Giovan Battista delle Piane; Francesco Solimena; Florentine weavers"],"materials":["Wool and silk"]},"58571b94-fb2a-50e6-8245-cbdd1f785d50":{"name":"Floor Spread (*sofra*) with Design of Tulips and Pomegranates","short_description":"A circular floor spread (*sofra*) with design of tulips and pomegranates. Around the outer edge is a narrow border of floral motifs. Within this comes a wide ring containing large tulips and artichoke or pomegranate motifs which have tulips within them set alternately. In the center is a double circle containing floral motifs like those in the border. The textile is mounted on a red velvet background. The design features red, blue, green, white, and yellow embroidered elements on a natural plain cloth background. There are slight repairs and many stains. The textile is pieced down the middle.","type":"Textiles and Clothing","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira 11th century to early 12th century / AD 17th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Diameter: 106.7cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"This circular shaped *sofra* is filled with tulip motifs characteristic of Ottoman embroidery. Tulips were originally a wild flower growing in Central Asia, and by the late seventeenth century Ottoman artists had perfected representations of the tulip form.","provenance":"Istanbul, Turkey, Asia","obtention":"Gift of Mrs. Frank H. Cook, 1952","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Krody, Sumru Belger, *The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art*, Washington D.C.: The Textile Museum, 2012.","dynasty":"Ottoman period, 1281–1924","keywords":["Floor; Spread; Sofra; Textile; Linen; Silk; Embroidery; Istanbul; Turkey; Asia; Ottoman"],"materials":["Linen with silk embroidery"]},"58b6fce0-a922-5b62-a0f4-e670ee6e41c9":{"name":"Banner","short_description":"The earliest of the complete Ottoman banners in the Khalili Collection, the central motif on this banner is the sword Dhu’l-Faqar, represented with the dragon quillons usually seen in its depiction on Ottoman banners. The inscription on the bifurcated blade is *sura* *al-Nisa’* (IV), verses 95 (end) and 96. This is surrounded by calligraphic medallions enclosing the names of God, Muhammad and the four Orthodox Caliphs, each with the appropriate invocation, and *sura* *Hud* (XI), part of verse 88.  \n  \nThe banner can be dated to the 17th century on the basis of its close resemblance in iconography and technique to a number of securely dated military trophies in European collections. Many copies of early banners, made in Istanbul in the early 19th century, can easily be identified by the incorporation in their design of a small calligraphic flag, thought to represent the Prophet’s own standard.","type":"Textile; banner; silk; brocade; metal thread","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"AD 17th century","location":"London","dimensions":"252 x 197cm","method_for_datation":"Dating based on iconographic and technical similarities with a number of securely dated banners.","provenance":"Turkey, probably Istanbul","obtention":"Christie’s, London, sale of 27 April 2004, lot 54.","bibliography":"Denny, W., in *Textiles, Carpets and Costumes*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, volume 14, Part One. \\[In preparation / forthcoming\\]  \nRogers, J.M., *The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection*, London: Thames & Hudson, 2010: 328–9.","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Turkey; Ottoman textile; silk; textile; metal thread; silk; brocade; banner; calligraphy; inscription"],"materials":["Brocaded silk tabby (or plain weave) with metal thread"]},"58fd0ec7-5172-5bbf-bac4-88e40da41359":{"name":"Alpujarra Rug or Bedcover","description":"The Alpujarra rugs (or bedcovers) with pile in loops were produced in the Alpujarra region south of Granada between the 15th-16th and the 19th centuries. Alpujarra rugs or covers are classified as European folk art and were influenced by Eastern rugs.  \nThe cover was woven in three parts on a narrow beam loom, then stitched together. The weaver used only three colours of mercerized cotton (ivory, abrashed saffron yellow and light green) and metal thread. The yellow ground field is adorned with a diagonal lattice with green and ivory rosettes in the rhombuses. A two-headed eagle with a crown is in the centre. On the lower edge of the field in the inscription “DOÑA ROSALIA BTAVO” (BRAVO?). The border is green and has a crowned lion in each of the four corners. Between the lions is an alternating pattern of rosettes and pairs of doves atop bowls. The outer border contains stylised lilies alternating with star rosettes.  \nAlfréd Hoffman, owner of *Eggenberger*, one of the oldest book companies in Pest (founded in 1768), donated the bedcover in 1894 to the Museum of Applied Arts in accordance with the will of friend, János Kovachich-Molnár (1838-1894), who had been his business partner since 1863.","type":"Bedcover","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Late 18th century (?)","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 237cm, Width: 159cm, Knot density: 1,610/dm2","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and technical analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Alpujarra, Province of Granada, Spain","obtention":"Donated by Alfréd Hoffmann, from the bequest of János Kovachich-Molnár, 1894","bibliography":"Batári, Ferenc, *Csomózott indiai, kelet turkesztáni, kínai, tibeti és európai szőnyegek: Kiállítás a Miskolci Galériában a Budapesti Iparművészeti Múzeum gyűjteményéből / Knotted Rugs from India, Eastern-Turkestan, China, Tibet and Europe: Exhibition in the Miskolc Gallery from the Collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts*, Miskolc: Miskolci Galéria, 1980: no. 19 and figure.  \nRadocsay, Dénes, and Farkas, Zsuzsanna (eds), *Az európai iparművészet remekei: Száz éves az Iparművészeti Múzeum*, Budapest: Iparművészeti Múzeum, 1972: no. 86 \\[Ferenc Batári\\].","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Alan Campbell","translator":"Lara Strong","keywords":["Alpujarra rug; European peasant rug; Mercerized cotton; Spanish rug:  U-loop technique"],"materials":["Warp and weft: Mercerized cotton; Loops: Mercerized cotton, (copper?) filament  wound in an \"S\" shape around a light green cotton core; U-loop technique."]},"5c6bfb8e-5045-5559-8078-f4e37350944b":{"name":"Pillowcase","short_description":"Textiles and embroidery found a wide array of uses which reflect the imaginations of Turkish women. In these textiles, silk, golden and silver threads were used for embroidery. From the 18th and 19th century on – when Western influence started – almost every colour found use and by using different tones of the same colour, the illusion of light and depth was created. Instead of human and animal figures, floral design, fruits, or calligraphy, ship and architectural patterns became more popular. This piece was made in the Hereke Plant, founded in 1843. There is one big star and crescent in the middle while there are four smaller ones in the corners. The base is covered with plenty of stars and dots.","type":"Textile","holder":"Vehbi Koç Foundation Sadberk Hanim Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"Istanbul","dimensions":"55x116 cm","provenance":"Hereke","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["textile objects; applied arts; handcraft"],"materials":["Velvet"]},"5ca32455-94fe-56af-a57b-31d8cd317caf":{"name":"Flag possibly belonging to a group of miners with anarchist ideas, bearing the sign “Neither servants nor masters, nor a penny nor a soldier”","short_description":"Flag possibly belonging to a group of miners with anarchist leanings (anarchists used black flags, and the working tools represented on the flag were used by miners), bearing on one side the sign: “neither servants nor masters”, and on the other side, the sign “Nor a penny nor a soldier” (it was implied “for the war”) and the image of broken weapons.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"1907","location":"Rome","dimensions":"104 x 137 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"5d84c4b0-6f1a-5b1c-87d0-3d8a61317a0a":{"name":"Flag of the Female Workers Friendly Society (Società di mutuo soccorso femminile) of Cremona, bearing the motto “All for one and one for all”","short_description":"During the second half of the 19th century, “friendly societies” flourished in Italy (especially in Central and Northern Italy). They predated trade unionism and were an important element of Italian social life.  \nThe Female Friendly Society (Società di mutuo soccorso femminile) of Cremona was created in 1863. It mostly comprised factory workers such as spinners and other workers in textile industry, but also included craftswomen like self-employed dressmakers, and even a few teachers.","type":"Flag","holder":"State Archives of Cremona","dates":"Unknown (probably end of the 19th–beginning of the 20th century)","location":"Cremona","dimensions":"163 x 171 cm","author":"Angela Bellardi","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","materials":["Embroidered silk"]},"5e3bd511-e913-550c-a38c-80f8d87cf0e9":{"name":"*Capture of Francis I, King of France*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nThe central episode represented in the tapestry is the capture of Francis I. After having passed through the copse, depicted high up on the left, and after having fought bravely on the muddy terrain, unfavourable to the heavy French cavalry, the King is captured following a shot from an arquebus that wounds his horse.  \nFrancis I is depicted in the foreground while three cavaliers from the enemy formation, La Motte de Noyers, the German Nicolas von Salm and the Count of Montmartin – as indicated by the abbreviated text that tends to be included on the horses’ tack and armour – help him to get to his feet. On the left is depicted the Viceroy of Naples, Charles de Lannoy, identified by the letters “VISSEROV” on the blade of his sword, while he dismounts from his horse to accept the surrender of the King.  \nBehind him a horseman raises the imperial standard, on which one can distinguish the double-headed eagle and Hercules’ pillars with the motto “PLUS OVLTRE”. In the centre of the tapestry, the man on a horse, who is wearing a dark outfit, on which stands out the white cross that indicates that he is on the side of the French, is Henry II, King of Navarre, captured in battle; in the distance, on the right, among the horsemen who have just come out of the copse, appears Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, identified by the word “BOURBON” on the reins, as well as by the presence of French *fleurs-de-lis* on the horse’s peytral.  \nIn the foreground, on the ground, there is the arquebus with which Francis I’s horse was hit. This is also a symbol of the new way of fighting in battle and the end of the cavalry: the use of firearms, striking from a distance, allowed the less courageous to prevail.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 435cm, W: 789cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nJackson, Zofia, “Battaglia di Pavia con la cattura del re di Francia”, in Beltramini, G., and Tura, A. (edited by), *Orlando Furioso. 500 anni. Cosa vedeva Ariosto quando chiudeva gli occhi*, exhibition catalogue (Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 24 September 2016 – 8 January 2017), Ferrara, 2016, pp. 200-201.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"5e6943fd-7101-58f0-8df8-80cc6f82f37e":{"name":"*Advance of the imperial troops and attack of the French gendarmerie led by Francis I*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries of the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections with the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nThrough the decorative cycle of tapestries, the intention was to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, commanded by Francis I, which took place on 24 February 1525, and was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia. Recently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels and to adorn a large room in the Royal Palace to mark the occasion of the Assembly of the Estates-General of Brussels in March 1531, the cycle arrived in Spain in the 1550s with Mary of Hungary, who later gave it to her young nephew Don Carlos. It is Don Carlos who links the history of the tapestries to the d’Avalos family, bequeathing them to Francesco Ferdinando d’Avalos (Buchanan 2002), Marquis of Pescara, and direct descendant of Fernando Francesco d’Avalos, the hero of Pavia depicted in the tapestry *Defeat of the French cavalry* and identified thanks to the writing on the neck of his horse.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris), a renowned painter, and designer of tapestries and stained-glass windows. The preparatory cartoons for the weaver were derived from these designs, or *modelletti*, with scenes reversed, given that, at the time in Brussels, tapestries were woven on “low-warp” looms. The presence of the weaver’s mark on the border of two of the tapestries provides a reference point for when the series was produced, because a decree of 1528 required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and this has allowed the workshop in which they were made to be identified as that of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen).  \nThe initial stages of the battle are represented in the tapestry. In the background, the infantry and cavalry of the imperial army are advancing, led by Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Constable of France (recognisable from the writing on his horse’s peytral), ready to attack the French troops. On the right, in the middle distance, King Francis I is depicted in the act of killing the Marquis of Civita Santangelo, commander of the enemy troops, an event that marks one of the first French successes. In the extreme foreground, on the right, several imperial arquebusiers can be seen preparing their weapons: across their shoulders, they wear a strap from which hang pouches containing gunpowder charges that have already been measured out; at their waists they have horn-shaped powder magazines. The legs of the arquebusier seen from behind, which are cut off at the knee, were originally hidden by a section of the wall of Visconti Park, as is also shown by the preparatory drawing for the tapestry, now in the Louvre. This section of wall could have been removed together with the border of the tapestry, no earlier than the second half of the 18th century. In fact, according to a description from the 1770s, the lower border, still intact, displayed decorative motifs with tritons and sea horses, similar to those that appear in the *Hunts of Maximilian*, another series of tapestries produced for Charles V from designs by van Orley, and today in the Louvre (Buchanan 2002).  \nIn the foreground, the King is depicted again, with his sallet visor lowered, as he heads with his elite guard towards a copse, where a fatal trap will be set for him.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 415cm, W: 818cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","method_for_provenance":"Weaver's mark","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"5e9b4b02-68df-5a5e-b287-ce07332661a1":{"name":"Block printed cotton hanging","short_description":"Typical products of the Qajar dynastic period, the Persian term *qalamkar* (literally, “pen-work“) refers to printed or/and painted cotton fabrics decorated with animals, depictions of Persian heroic fables, floral and tendril patterns or cypresses growing out of vases. Depending on the motif, *qalamkars* were employed as fabric for clothing, wall hangings or table cloths. The most famous member of this dynasty, Naser ad-Din Shah, visited the Vienna World’s Fair in 1873.","type":"Textile","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Second half of the 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 176cm, W: 116cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"At the turn of the 19th century, parts of the inventory of collections of the Austrian Museum of Trade (established 1874) gradually found their way to the ethnographic department of the Imperial and Royal Court Museum of Natural History (later, Museum of Ethnology, today Weltmuseum Wien). In 1925 the Austrian Museum of Trade was dissolved.","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"Der Phantastische Wald. Lebensbäume. Weltenbaum und Weltenberg,\" in Gerard van Bussel and Axel Steinmann (eds), *Wald / Baum / Mensch, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Museum für Völkerkunde, 2011: 109-110.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton"]},"618bc97a-0543-5e59-aeff-839fc23ec12e":{"name":"*Sitara* for the *rawda* of the Prophet’s mosque in Medina","short_description":"That this curtain was intended for the *rawda* is suggested by the text in the large medallion at the top. It consists of a *hadith* of the Prophet, *ma bayna qabri wa minbari rawda min riyad al-janna* (‘Between my tomb and my minbar is one of the gardens of Paradise’). The same text appears above the *mihrab* in the *rawda*.  \nSultan Mahmud II is known to have practised the art of calligraphy and a number of *sitara*s commissioned by him for the Prophet’s mosque bear his pear-shaped signature cartouche which reads, *katabahu al-‘abd Mahmud bin ‘Abdulhamid khan* (‘written by the servant \\[of God\\] Mahmud, the son of ‘Abdulhamid Khan’).","type":"Textile; *rawda* curtain; *sitara*; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"1808–39  \n  \nwith the signature cartouche of Sultan Mahmud II","location":"London","dimensions":"280 x 163cm","method_for_datation":"The date is based on the presence of the *tughra* and signature cartouche of Sultan Mahmud II.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul; commissioned by Sultan Mahmud II and with his signature cartouche","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., “The Textiles Made for the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina: A Preliminary Study of their Origins, History and Style”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 184–94.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Curtain; Dedicatory inscription; Embroidery; Hadith; Hajj; Hijaz; Mihrab; Minbar; Medina; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Prophet’s mosque; Rawdah; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Mecca"],"materials":["Red silk, heavily relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"61fdfc64-9d3d-5440-a2af-70636e65734d":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"The size and non-repetitive pattern of this monumental depiction of a woman standing in a lobed arch make it unique. It was first and foremost weavers from Safavid Iran who were known for making these technically unparalleled textiles, but we know from the biography of the Great Mughal Akbar that in around 1600, the Indians had come equally far in technical skill.","type":"Velvet, silk","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira c. 1010 / AD c. 1600","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"India or Iran","dynasty":"Mughal or Safavid","keywords":["Velvet; Iran; India; Silk; textile; human representation; figural decoration; women; bird; floral decoration; animal decoration"],"materials":["Silk and silver lamella spun around silk"]},"6392fda5-b738-5dec-9a45-71733b02404b":{"name":"Tent panel","short_description":"This appliqué is one of a set of six featuring designs that echo the bold geometry of Egypt’s period of Mamluk rule (1250–1517). The format of calligraphy above a central roundel with trefoils is similar to other works of art created during the Mamluk Revival period. This particular textile features the following verse from the Qur’an: “That man can have nothing but what he strives for...” (53:39). Appliqués of this type were often used to embellish tents.","type":"Islamic, Indian & Southeast Asian works of art; textile","holder":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Honolulu, Hawai'i","dimensions":"Overall: 289.6 x 148.6 cm","provenance":"Egypt (Cairo)","dynasty":"Mamluk Revival","keywords":["tent panel; Neo-Mamluk; Neo Mamluk; Mamluk Revival; Egypt; cotton; applique; geometric motifs; inscription; revivalism; textile"],"materials":["Cotton (applique technique)"]},"64ac8dbf-8dd2-5b1c-a223-2129d475ce2e":{"name":"Case for the crown of Stefan Bocskai","short_description":"This decagonal domed case is made of wood and covered with fabric. The clasp at the front and the hinges at the back are silver-gilt. The fabric of the cover is costly Persian silk and is decorated with a figural scene surrounded by flowers. Half sitting, half reclining, a lady is reading a book. Beside her kneels a servant with a wide, sweeping *turban*, offering her a bowl with his right hand and holding a bottle in his left. Between the two figures lies a bowl containing fruit. In the lady's open book can be read the signature of the artist Mu'min, in Arabic script. On the inside of the case, the fabric retains all the freshness of its original colours, and is typical of the refined taste of the court of Shah 'Abbas the Great (AD 1587–1628) at Isfahan. Technically, it can be described as a double-woven lampas of coloured silk. Glued to the floor of the case is an Italian fabric from the early 17th century. Its ground is warp satin in red silk; the pattern, which takes the form of pinnate leaves and blossoms, is yellow silk woven in twill and intervowen with silver.","type":"Textile; case","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira c. 1014 / AD c. 1605","location":"Vienna","provenance":"Iran? Turkey?","dynasty":"Ottoman; fabric: Safavid","keywords":["Safawid; textile; lampas; satin; floral decoration; figurative decoration; Shah `Abbas the Great; Mu´min; woodwork; court life; women; Italian textiles;"],"materials":["Textile, wood, silk, silver, gilt"]},"665aed9d-195b-51b5-8961-06a52dfd6aab":{"name":"Piece of the *kiswa* (cover) of the Ka’ba.","description":"A piece of the Ka'ba *kiswa* (cover) which was probably produced in Syria, and was sent as part of the *Shami mahmal* (the Syrian Caravan carrying gifts for the Ka'ba) to Mecca to re-adorn the Ka'ba. Such a ritual occurred every year before the season of the Hajj, and included a venerated ceremony at which the commencement of the Hajj season was officially announced. It was and still is the case that the Ka'ba is washed, perfumed and purified every year and is then covered with a new *kiswa*. The fragmentexhibited here is made from red silk and embroidered with silver silken thread. The design includes two undulating bands which assume the form of a continuous chain made up of number “7”s. Both bands run from the beginning to the end of the cloth. Small, dispersed decorative elements are scattered between the two borders, as well as between the two undulating bands. Written inscriptions appear, the most prominent being: “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his Prophet”, repeating in the middle of the *kiswa* between the two zigzag bands. The two expressions, “Ya Mannan” (“Oh Merciful”) and “Ya Hannan” (“Oh Compassionate”) are also repeated, and consist of flowery forms running along both edges. On the upper undulating band, there is a verse from the Qur'an, “al-Baqara” (“the Cow”, 2: 144). The lower undulating band holds another chapter from the Qur'an: Surat Al 'Imran “the Family of Imran” (3:96). At the top and the bottom of the piece there are two expressions: “Dhu al-Jalal” (“Possessor of Majesty”) and “Dhu al-Ikram” (“Possessor of Honour”). One can conceptualise the size of the complete *kiswa* by bringing to mind the enormous scale of the Ka'ba. It is likely that the forms and inscriptions on this piece were repeated on the *kiswa* in its entirety. The name of the donor, the date of production and the emporium where it was produced is not recorded; the evidence has probably been cut off.  \nIt is worth mentioning that once used to cover the Ka'ba, the *kiswa* was cut into small pieces and sent as gifts to different capitals and cities in the Islamic world to bestow blessing on them. Ruling palaces and councils contained pieces of the *kiswa,* which were used to confer legality and sanctity.","short_description":"Every year the Ka’ba is washed and covered with a *kiswa* (cover) marking the beginning of the Hajj season. This piece is of red silk and embroidered with silver silk forming fragmented zigzags that repeat from the beginning of the piece to its end. Small forms are scattered in different places within inscription bands.","type":"Silk embroidery, silk thread, costume","holder":"Islamic Museum, al-Aqsa Mosque / al-Haram al-Sharif.","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Jerusalem","dimensions":"Length 142 cm, width 68 cm.","method_for_datation":"This fragment was dated based on comparison with similar pieces in the museums of Istanbul, whose dates had been narrowed down to around the 13th / 19th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is likely that this piece was made in Syria, since it is reminiscent of other pieces in the museums of Istanbul known to have been produced in the region.","provenance":"Probably Syria.","obtention":"Al-Sayyid Tahir Sayf al-Din, about whom nothing is known, donated the *kiswa* fragment to the Islamic Museum in 1937.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Nazmi Al-Ju'beh","copy_editor":"Majd Musa","translator":"Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Embroidery; silk; cloth; kiswa of the Ka’ba; textile; silk textile"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silk thread."]},"6748859a-edf1-57f0-b773-2f77f78d2cad":{"name":"Brocaded velvet","short_description":"This luxurious cloth is woven in red silk velvet with silver metallic threads. Although strikingly modern-looking in design, this motif is ancient. Known as *chintamani*, it derives from the Sanskrit word ‘precious jewel'. The triple spot motif has long represented the Buddhist eternal wish-granting jewel, but the 'spots and stripes' motif is also found in Persian paintings of ancient kings wearing the skins of tigers and leopards, associating this motif with power, kingship and royalty.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD mid 16th century","location":"Doha","dimensions":"Height: 83cm, Width: 63cm","provenance":"Turkey, Bursa","obtention":"Kuzmeli Collection until 1998; sold to Qatar Museums","bibliography":"Seipel, Joseph H., *God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty: The object in Islamic Art and Culture*, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.  \nThompson, Jon, *Silk. 13th to 18th centuries. Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar*, Doha: National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, 2004.  \nWatson, Oliver, *Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar*, Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2008.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Tara Desjardins","keywords":["Ottoman; Textile;  Cintamani; Chintamani; Turkey"],"materials":["Silk, Metal Thread, Brocade velvet; Weaving"]},"6752ea88-0922-5aae-a9a3-d9e93a4c8c57":{"name":"Embroidery","short_description":"This rich embroidery in the Mudéjar style showed the importance of these goods in the Italian and Spanish Renaissance. The influence of the Arab art in the Renaissance has been overlooked many times, but the Mediterranean ceramics and textiles of this period were influenced, in technique and decoration, by this art.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Mudejar style (13th–14th century); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"22,4 x 28,6 cm","provenance":"Spain","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art; islamic influence; orientalism; collectionism"],"materials":["Silk and metallic threads; embroidery"]},"69333e0f-47a7-51b4-ada7-d43aa30c07fe":{"name":"Flag of the peasants’ league of a small village in Tuscany, central Italy","short_description":"Peasants’ leagues (Lega Contadina) were the first form of agricultural workers’ organisations. They flourished in Italy at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century.  \nRavi and Caldana are villages in the municipality of Gavorrano (a mine district in the province of Grosseto, Tuscany).  \nIn 1911, when the national trade union Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (CGdL) proclaimed a strike against Italy’s colonial war in Libya, the miners of the Gavorrano district participated in the strike.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"Unknown (probably c. 1920)","location":"Rome","dimensions":"122 x 142 cm","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"6936e4f0-8dda-5065-9aac-81da03ff336e":{"name":"Textile with tulips","short_description":"The large, stylized tulips make this textile a fine example of the highly original and magnificent patterns that were designed in the Ottoman court studios.  \nSo much gold and silver thread was used for certain textiles that the sultans prohibited their production for periods, since they drained the reserves of precious metals.","type":"Ottoman textile fragment, Lampas, silver lamella","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira 2nd half of the 10th century  / AD 2nd half of the 16th century","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Ottoman textile; Floral motifs; Tulip; workshop"],"materials":["Lampas-woven, silk and silver lamella"]},"6b0278dc-5b28-55d6-9771-7558446e7713":{"name":"Silk 'Limar' Sarong","short_description":"Silk *limar* sarong predominantly purple & red. The central compartment is adorned floral chain patterns with a panel adorned with a motif of confronted bamboo shoots & flowers.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"108.5 x 105cm","provenance":"Possibly Terengganu, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 52-53.","dynasty":"Terengganu Sultanate"},"6bb34fe7-eaef-56c1-b556-3d1d89dfb069":{"name":"Marriage tent","short_description":"A complete early 20th century Egyptian tent adorned with colourful textile panels in interior part. *Khayamiyya* or Egyptian art of tent-making is created using a hand-applique technique in which fabric pieces are cut, folded and skillfully hand-sewn to canvas, producing impressive tents and wall hangings. These vibrant textiles are widely used in ceremonial contexts such as weddings, funerals, street parties and religious events. This tent was used for the wedding of a daughter of the last Khedive of Egypt in 1903. It can be erected with the decoration reversed should it be thought more appropriate.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"c. Hegira 1300 / c. AD 1900","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"427 x 701cm","provenance":"Egypt","bibliography":"*Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Volume 1, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2002: 222-223.  \nIslamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Beyond Boundaries-Tents of the Islamic World*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2003: 46-59.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Woven cotton"]},"6c834b03-f120-537f-ad07-f35c0f191253":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"The interior walls of the Shrine of the Prophet in the Madina were traditionally honoured with elaborate hangings. During the Ottoman period, it was customary for the Sultan to send hangings for the shrine  on the occasion of his ascension to the throne or when wear and tear demanded them to be replaced. The old  hangings were returned to Istanbul.Judging by their inscriptions, it has been suggested that  black-grounded Ottoman textiles like this one may have been commissioned specifically to cover the tomb of the Prophet (pbuh). In addition to qur'anic inscriptions, the calligraphic panels include a large green medallion with a hadith of the Prophet: ‘ (For) whosoever may visit my grave, my intercession will become an obligation’. Below, elaborate arabesque scrolling surrounds the emblem or tughra of the sultan Abd al-Hamid II (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD), who commissioned this hanging.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation /Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira mid 13th century / AD mid 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2560 mm x 1370 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["tughra; tugra; sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and gilt silver metal thread"],"artist":"Unknown"},"6cfb6464-d160-543b-9056-10619a938fd8":{"name":"Textile (possibly a cushion cover)","short_description":"Dating to the mid-10th/mid-16th century, this richly embellished textile gives a vivid sense of the multihued opulence of the court of the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman (Hegira 926–972 / AD 1520–65). Possibly a cushion cover for a throne or a sofa, the crimson satin fabric is embroidered with silk, gold and silver thread. The bold blossoms and spiky leaves that typify the Ottoman court style are arranged, along with a quartet of lively roosters, around a complex eight-lobed medallion. The quality of the design, the fine embroidery and the lavish use of silver and gold metallic thread demonstrate the unrivalled level of excellence of Ottoman imperial textiles.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","dates":"Hegira mid-10th century / AD mid-16th century","location":"Los Angeles","dimensions":"86.7 x 83.8cm","method_for_datation":"The materials, technique and decoration are consonant with other textiles produced for the Ottoman court, particularly during the latter part of Sultan Süleyman’s reign.","method_for_provenance":"The radiating star motif at center relates to Ottoman manuscript illumination while the flowers and serrated leaf designs are found among a variety of Ottoman decorative arts including textiles.","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Yanni Petsopoulos (1949 - ), until 1981 (sale, private sale, London, April 11, 1981, sold to); Edwin Binney, 3rd (1866-1934), Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, Portland, ME, until 1985 (gifted to); LACMA, The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.","bibliography":"Atil, Esin, *The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent*, Washington: National Gallery of Art, New York; H. Abrams, 1987.  \nKomaroff, Linda, *Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art*, Rev. ed., Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005: 48, fig. 45.  \nPal, Pratapaditya, Lentz, Thomas W., Canby, Sheila R., Binney, Edwin, 3rd, Denny, Walter B. and Markel, Stephen “Arts from Islamic Cultures: Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” *Arts of Asia*, 17 : 6 (1987): 111.  \nPesopoulos, Yanni (ed), *Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire*, New York: Abbeville Press, 1982: cat. 150.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"LACMA Staff","keywords":["Ottoman textile; court life; embroidery; floral decoration; animal decoration; textile"],"materials":["Silk and metal foil-wrapped silk embroidered on compound satin ground"]},"6fa63cbf-0340-5e3e-8071-e07e6642fc87":{"name":"Bib for the camel of the Egyptian *mahmal*","short_description":"The camel destined to carry the Egyptian *mahmal* was specially chosen for its appearance as much as for its strength. It was looked after by a special employee in Dar al-Kiswa, and was caparisoned in richly embroidered textiles while being paraded through the streets of Cairo and major cities on its way to Mecca and back.  \n  \nThe Qur’anic inscription, *sura al-Nahl*, verse 7, is apposite. It reads, ‘And they carry your heavy loads to lands that you could not otherwise reach except with souls distressed. Truly, your Lord is full of Kindness, Most Merciful.’  \n  \nThe cotton lining bears a stamped trade mark of a firm in Manchester, England, consisting of an open hand bearing a name, possibly Abraham Harawi, in Arabic.","type":"Textile; bib; *mahmal* camel; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"AD 19th century","location":"London","dimensions":"53 x 100cm (maximum, excluding tassels)","method_for_datation":"Dated on stylistic grounds, and by comparison with photographic evidence.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Banner; Camel; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca; mahmal"],"materials":["Red silk, relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding; silk tassels; silver sequins; cotton lining"]},"70d2bc19-2c28-56d7-a583-2120b88a62ab":{"name":"Fragment","short_description":"This linen *tiraz* textile is enlivened with vibrantly coloured red, blue, and yellow animals and medallions. Unlike most *tiraz*, in which the primary decoration is an embroidered inscription, this textile depicts a hare and confronted peacocks. While the decorative motif refers to pre-Islamic Coptic and Sasanian textiles, the textile’s late date of the eleventh century reflects a trend toward classical revival in Fatimid artistic production. Two bands of *kufic* text repeat the word God in Arabic.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira late 4th–5th century / AD 11th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 24.8cm, W: 23.5cm;  Mount: L: 40.6cm, W: 38.9cm","provenance":"Fustat, Egypt","obtention":"Rogers Fund, 1927  \nVendor: Joseph Abemayor, Cairo  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Joseph Abemayor, Cairo, until 1927; sold to H.E. Winlock for MMA\\]","bibliography":"Walker, Daniel S. and Froom, Aimee, *Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops. Exhibition Notebook*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 15-16, no. 4.","dynasty":"Fatimid","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1927","keywords":["Fustat; Egypt; Fatimid; tiraz; linen; silk; medallions; kufic; animal decoration; cloth; clothing; fragment; factory; Fatimid textiles; funerary object; inscription; pseudo inscriptions; textile; textile fragment; tiraz fabric"],"materials":["Linen and silk"]},"72ae21b5-d599-5f2d-a160-0551b46ab9bb":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The greenish ground material of this embroidery is very sheer chiffon. Blossoming shrubs are spread over the entire surface of this fine fabric, executed in gradated shades of different-coloured silk. The outlines and stems are made of gold thread. Judging from the circle in the middle, this nearly square textile could originally have served as a turban cover. While the textile was in Riddarholm Church in Stockholm it was used as a baptismal font cover.","short_description":"Embroidery on a ground of very sheer, greenish chiffon. Blossoming shrubs are spread over the entire surface of the textile. The embroidery could originally have served as a turban cover. During the time it belonged to Riddarholm Church in Stockholm it was used as a cover for a baptismal font.","type":"Silk, gold thread, chiffon","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities.","owner":"Riddarholm Church, Stockholm, through donation of Emerentia von Düben in 1728.","initial_owner":"Emerentia von Düben, Maid of Honour to Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden.","dates":"Hegira early 12th century / AD early 18th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 115 cm, width 114 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established according to the technique by A. Geijer (see Bibliogrqphy).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Riddarholm Church, Stockholm.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, 182–3.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, 83–5, cat. no. 143, plate 74 (black and white), plate XVII (colour).  \n*Islam, Konst och Kultur. Islam, Art and Culture*, Exhibition catalogue, Stockholm, 1985, cat. no. 31.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textiles; embroidery; floral decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gold thread; chiffon, embroidery."]},"7394659c-7bbb-55dd-b364-8018961596d1":{"name":"Hand-towel (*Peşkir*)","description":"Embroidered textile on beige ground. The short edges are decorated with floral motifs in blue, pink, red, yellow and green threads. At the centre, three blue pots each contain a bouquet of three flowers.","type":"Fabric","holder":"İznik Museum Directorate","dates":"AH 13th / AD 19th century","location":"Bursa","dimensions":"Height: 103cm, width: 38cm","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","keywords":["Water; textile, embroidery; cotton; hand-towel; Ottomans"],"materials":["Cotton"]},"74752ee1-50a2-52d2-8b58-9bfb2e4bbf50":{"name":"Cushion cover","short_description":"Cushions like these formed part of the resplendent furnishings of palaces and tents. The centre of the rectangular cushion cover shows a medallion flanked by *saz* leaves and pinks placed in a rectangle, around which tulips are also depicted besides the *saz* leaves and pinks. The two shorter ends of the cushion cover are finished off with crenelated borders showing basket tulips in their interior pattern. In order to cope with the great demand for draperies, wall hangings and cushion covers for the interior furnishings of lordly Ottoman interiors, such cushion covers were woven on a production-line basis.","type":"Ottoman home textile, silk, velvet, gold","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Late 17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 100cm, W: 173cm","provenance":"Ottoman Empire, Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-95634","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Ottoman textile; Floral motifs; Saz style; Tulip; Ottoman interior decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gold lamella; Velvet, broché, embroidered"]},"757957ce-46d4-5799-8792-5f05be3e1e3f":{"name":"Hanging (*sitara*) for the Mosque of the Prophet, Medina al-Munawwarah","short_description":"This green and black silk textile is richly embroidered with silver and gilt metal threads. The centre displays six cartouches with thuluth inscriptions, followed below by a black niche with a central lamp motif. A border with trefoil scrolling surrounds the central panel. The inscriptions used on this textile clearly indicate that this textile was intended for the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina. The four main cartouches contain verse 56 from chapter 33 (Al-Ahzab) of the Holy Qur’an: ‘Allah sends His Salat (merciful blessings) on the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and also His angels. O you who believe! Send your Salat on him and greet him with the Islamic way of greeting’. The inscriptions in the two cartouches below state that this curtain was ordered by the Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II (1293 H/1876 AD – 1327 H/1909 AD) and renewed by Efendi Abbas Hilmi, the last Khedive Pasha of Ottoman Egypt (1291 H/ 1874 AD – 1350 H/ 1931 AD) in 1321 H/ 1903 AD.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation /Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira 1321 / AD 1903","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"2260 x 1150 mm","provenance":"Egypt","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["thuluth; Khedive; sitara"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, silver and silver gilt metal thread"],"artist":"Unknown"},"7b315354-8d00-5a9b-9462-8f8f378759d3":{"name":"Rustam Slaying the White Div","short_description":"The overall layout of this hanging is reminiscent of courtly manuscript illustrations with its figure-rich inner field and the border on which birds and game cavort in lush vegetation. The somewhat naïve style of the figures suggests that this embroidery in chain stitch technique must have been made at the beginning of the 20th century.  \n  \nThe central field depicts scenes from the life of Rustam, the most popular hero from Ferdausi’s national epic *Shahnama*, the Book of Kings. The scene in the lower third is the easiest to recognise. It shows Rustam slaying the White Div, the ruler of Mazandaran. Above this we probably see Rustam’s fight with Suhrab, one of the most tragic moments in the *Shahnama*. During the duel, Rustam slays the young man, who shows him a talisman as he dies and it is at that moment that Rustam realises that he has just killed his very own son. Meanwhile, the top scene shows an unspecified battle scene.  \n  \nWall hangings fulfilled many functions in Persian houses, be it as decoration for niches or as curtains. In this case, it is even conceivable that the hanging was used in one of the many coffee and tea houses, serving as a backdrop for professional storytellers to illustrate their stories.","type":"Hanging","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Fritz Hermann","dates":"Hegira early 14th century / AD late 19th-early 20th century","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 221cm, Width: 149cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with similar dated works and due to visual characteristics of some of the colours.","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Gift of Fritz Hermann","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschof, Marie-Louise and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen: Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: 90-91.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Cotton, mercerised cotton thread and embroidery (chainstitch)"]},"7c7a8c7a-41b6-5201-9026-cc3578b10664":{"name":"Curtain Panel with Design of Horizontal Bands of Geometric Patterns and Arabic Inscriptions in *Kufic* Script","short_description":"A long rectangular brocaded silk panel displaying twenty-one bands of varying widths with patterns in yellow, blue or green, black, and white on a red ground. Two bands are exceptionally wide. One of these wide bands is filled with a yellow geometric arabesque that encloses six elaborate eight-pointed stars. The other displays a smaller, more tightly spaced version of the star motif. Two nearly-identical sections of nine narrow bands alternate with these wide bands. In the center of each nine-band section is a band with five yellow stars surrounded by interlacing lines of blue or green forming an Arabic inscription in *kufic* script, which reads in translation as \"success and happiness.\" On either side of this wide band is a series of three narrow bands with alternating red and yellow arabesques on either side of a central band. It has a running white arabesque around cartouches (ovoid frames) with another Arabic inscription in *kufic* script, which reads in translation as \"good luck and prosperity,\" that alternate with rosettes in red or red and green. This series of seven smaller bands is framed by thin bands of alternating serrated triangles; the triangles point up and down in different colors, either red on green or white on green. The bottom of the panel has a contrasting checkerboard motif in yellow, white, black and red, and ends in a band of red tassels.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira 8th century / AD 14th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 103.2cm x Width: 37.1cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Spain, Europe","obtention":"Museum Purchase, 1939","bibliography":"Al Khemir, Sabiha, *Beauty and Belief: Crossing Bridges with the Arts of Islamic Culture*, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 2012.","dynasty":"Mudejar","keywords":["Panel; Textile; Brocade; Silk; Spain; Europe; Spanish"],"materials":["Brocaded silk"]},"7de42026-ed99-5288-a199-da1cae44d5fc":{"name":"Caparison for a horse given by the Sultan of Morocco to the King of Italy, on the occasion of a visit to Italy of a Moroccan Ambassador in 1890","short_description":"In 1890, the Sultan of Morocco sent Hagi El Maati el Mazamizi as an Ambassador to Italy. The Ambassador landed in Naples on June 7th and arrived by train in Rome on June 13th. At the railway station, he was received by the Mayor of Rome, the Prefect, and other authorities. A military band was playing and military men in high uniform were paraded in the station to greet the Ambassador.  \nOutside the station, three of the King’s gala carriages were waiting for the Ambassador and a military unit was paraded in his honour. Some carabinieri in high uniform escorted the Ambassador to the hotel.  \nHagi El Maati el Mazamizi presented the King with gifts, including some superb horses that the King immensely appreciated. The King presented the Ambassador with a magnificent small gold and diamonds small box and a hunting rifle and gave gold watches to the members of his escort.","type":"Caparison for a horse","holder":"National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Rome","author":"Vito Lattanzi, Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","materials":["Silk; gold embroidery"]},"7f2fed78-da3c-5a60-9d84-6fa3d3fadd64":{"name":"*Kain panjang* (Shoulder or hip cloth)","short_description":"Ceremonial shoulder or hip cloth, predominantly maroon, featuring *pucuk rebung lawi ayam* (bamboo shoot with cockerel's tail) and *bunga rumput* (grass flower) motif.  \n  \nClick [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"224 x 89.7cm","provenance":"East Coast, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 60-61.","dynasty":"Malay Sultanate","materials":["Silk *limar* with *songket*"]},"802c443d-9ccb-5e7b-b692-21b1695a778f":{"name":"Traditional suitcase","short_description":"Bags such as these were used by young brides, particularly in the 19th century, in order to transport their belongings to the marital home. As per tradition, the bag is made of black fabric and embroidered with the words *ma sha Allah* in Arabic calligraphy, meaning \"as God wills\". The words are embroidered in golden silk thread and surrounded by floral patterns.","type":"Textile; needlework","holder":"Lebanese Heritage Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"`Ayn Najm","provenance":"Turkey","author":"Marie Therese Moujabber","copy_editor":"Flaminia Baldwin","keywords":["Floral decoration; Embroidery; Silk; Needlework"],"materials":["Embroidery; silk"]},"80da057a-50e4-5b41-a93e-f12cf060df80":{"name":"*Invasion of the French camp and the taking of the Castle of Mirabello. Flight of the ladies and civilians following Francis I*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here precedes *Flight of the imperial troops from Pavia*, where the Lombard city is portrayed. In fact, juxtaposing the two tapestries, the landscape bordered in the foreground by the walls of Visconti Park can be re-created; furthermore, both in the foreground and in the distance, the defensive system that marks the edge of the French encampment, composed of a series of gabions, field fortifications comprising large baskets of entwined branches filled with earth, can be linked together.  \nAccording to the chronology of events, the tapestry represents one of the early moments of the final phase of the battle: at dawn on 24 February, the imperial troops burst into the French encampment. The French had pitched camp within the Old Park, occupying the Mirabello Castle, a fortified hunting lodge, depicted in the background on the left. In the centre, several infantrymen are trying to save themselves by crossing the Vernavola river, using their pikes. Beyond the flames, which are caused by the explosion of casks of gunpowder, one can glimpse Francis I’s tent, decorated with the French *fleurs-de-lis*. In the foreground, through a breach in the wall, one can see the flight of soldiers and civilians who were with the French army that was camped there, among them ornately dressed women. In the distance, on the right, one can see tranquil scenes of camp life, with people busy preparing food and overseeing meals.","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 440cm, W: 818cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “Invasion of the French Camp end the Flight of the Women and Civilians”, in Campbell, Thomas P. (edited by), *Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence*, exhibition catalogue, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002, pp. 321-328.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"821764f8-832c-5dab-a096-4cb7b82143b8":{"name":"Textile fragment from the shrine of San Librada, Sigüenza Cathedral","short_description":"This textile fragment displays a pattern of roundels bearing addorsed griffins with gazelles below their forelegs, within a border of pairs of fantastic animals. The interstitial motif consists of an eight-pointed star enclosing a rosette and surrounded by pairs of confronted quadrupeds. The pattern, popular in both Muslim and Byzantine worlds, recalls earlier silks of the eastern Mediterranean and, ultimately, of Central Asia. Silks of this type have been found in reliquaries of churches in Spain; they may be the \"patterns with circles\" of Almeria referred to in historical documents. These Islamic textiles were most likely brought to Sigüenza by Alfonso VII, in 1147 on the occasion of the victory over the Almoravids and the capture of Almeria.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira late 5th–first half 6th century / AD first half 12th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 43.2cm, W: 30.5cm; Mount: H: 52.4cm, W: 42.2cm, D: 3.2cm","provenance":"Spain","obtention":"Funds from various donors, 1958  \nVendor: Paul O. Berliz, New York  \nFormer owner: Paul O. Berliz, New York (until 1958; sold to MMA)","bibliography":"Clark, Kenneth, *Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries: the Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1970: 160, no. 130, ill. (b/w).","dynasty":"Taifa kingdoms","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Funds from various donors, 1958","keywords":["Taifa; Spain; texile; fragment; silk; lampas weave; griffon; gazelle; Almohad; religious object; Byzantine influences"],"materials":["Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas"]},"82a76cf7-12e6-5f7e-accc-28e18a32a4e9":{"name":"Wall hanging.","description":"A wall hanging for a domestic interior comprising three widths of coarse, brownish linen sewn together and embroidered in blue, red, yellow and green coloured silks using darning stitch. The overall composition is of staggered abstracted carnations that alternate with paired tulips; these rise from a split stem with serrated leaves issuing from either side. A turquoise-blue scalloped border surrounds the central composition.","short_description":"Ottoman embroideries like this one are dated to the late AH 11th / AD 17th century. Professional embroideries of the highest quality were the prerogative of the Ottoman court, while throughout the empire ladies strove to echo fashionable court designs in their domestic embroidery work.","type":"Ottoman textile, linen, silk embroidery","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 182.8 cm, width 137.2 cm.","method_for_datation":"This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.","method_for_provenance":"This embroidery belongs to a group of well-known Ottoman embroideries ascribed to the late 11th / 17th century.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Bequest of Mrs Charlotte M. Cameron in 1947.","bibliography":"Scarce, J., *Domestic Culture in the Middle East: an Exploration of the Household Interior*, Edinburgh, 1996, p.100 (where item is illustrated).","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Textile; tulip; carnations; floral decoration; vegetal decoration; embroidery"],"materials":["Linen and silk embroidery."]},"82ea9712-5e3e-5143-b91a-4afc4229d69e":{"name":"Towel border","short_description":"Ottoman embroidery was used to decorate a wide range of clothing and household items such as towels, waistbands, turban covers. Its repertoire is closely reminiscent of the motifs used in the decoration of carpets and ceramics, and betrays, once more, the Ottoman artists’ love of nature, their particular passion for flowers. This towel border has a floral design punctuated by cypress trees. The silver-gilt thread and strips outline and emphasize the motifs which recall a gold calligraphic inscription.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 55cm, Width: 12.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Transferred to the Museum in 1949.","bibliography":"Beldescu, A., *Broderii turceşti*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 1997: 30, cat. no. 13.  \nDunca, M., *Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 45, no. 15.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Embroidery"],"materials":["Cotton embroidered with silk, silver-gilt thread and strips"]},"847012ff-11f1-5a0c-b2dd-0128cd68ab78":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This piece of cloth comes from a silk lampas fabric of which other fragments are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Dallas Museum of Art (Keir Collection of Islamic Art), among other institutions. The fabric is decorated with the figures of turbaned hunters, some of them holding a bird in each hand, while others carry a gazelle in their arms. Woven in light-yellow and orange thread, the hunters stand out clearly against the black silk. Hunters wearing turbans are typical of the Safawid period (1501–1722/36) and also adorn contemporary miniatures.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"42.5cm x 24.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; a fragment of this lampas is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, no. 06.1874","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, in 1951, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Andrews Reath, Nancy, and Eleanor B. Sachs, *Persian textiles and their technique from the sixth to the eighteenth centuries, including a system for general textile classification*, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937, cat. no. 66.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1‒2 (1992): 19–29, 24, fig. 3.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Safawid textile; silk fabric; lampas; Persian textile"],"materials":["Brocaded lampas"]},"8a23cf21-8e40-56f8-a680-0a7470e6a67a":{"name":"Silk length","short_description":"This textile bears the popular ogival lattice pattern with crimson medallions surrounded by gilt bands woven with ivory cloud scrolls. The medallions contain palmettes, feathery leaves and naturalistic flowers, a combination regularly occurring on silks of the second half of the 16th century attributed to Istanbul. Around the middle of that century the Grand vizier Rüstem Pasha reorganized the city’s textile workshops with the aim of restricting the import of Italian silks.","type":"Silk, gilt metallic thread","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD second half 16th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 157 cm  \nWidth 98 cm","provenance":"Bursa or Istanbul","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Ottoman textile; Ogival lattice pattern; Floral motifs; textile"],"materials":["Silk, gilt metallic thread"]},"8afba048-0957-5c1e-afda-b13a74187ad5":{"name":"Cloth fragment.","description":"The many different colours of the fragment combine serenely and harmoniously. The mainly red of beige background is decorated with strips containing geometric motifs (mostly medallions) alternating with floral patterns (stylised scrolled stalks and leaves) and highly stylised birds.  \nThe motifs are mainly in blue (indigo), yellow (saffron), and red (cochineal dye or lacquer). Beige-green and other colours accompany these.  \nThe cloth is woven in the manner used by Coptic weavers over several centuries. This fragment appears to come from high Egypt, well-known since ancient times for its weaving of wool.","short_description":"Fragment of a heavily dyed fabric combining geometric and plant motifs. The needlework techniques and decorative motifs are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* from the Tulunid era. This fragment is thought to come from Upper Egypt, famed since Antiquity for its wool weaving.","type":"Textile, cloth, wool","holder":"Ribat Museum.","dates":"Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century.","location":"Monastir.","dimensions":"Oblong, length 74 cm width 13 cm.","method_for_datation":"The type of weaving and the decoration are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* dating from the same Tulunid era in the 3rd / 9th century.","method_for_provenance":"The type of weaving and the decoration are similar to those found in Egyptian *tiraz* dating from the same era.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"The cloth fragment 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.","dynasty":"Tulunid (Abbasid)","author":"Mourad Rammah","copy_editor":"Margot Cortez","translator":"David Ash","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Tiraz; geometric decoration; figurative decoration; textile"],"materials":["Woven wool."]},"8c4076d1-62c9-5729-a3d5-d8c91345437b":{"name":"Bridal headdress","description":"An example of coin-adorned accessories from Palestine dating to the early twentieth century, this bridal headdress originates from the villages of the Jaffa area. The coins incorporated into bridal ornaments symbolised part of the bride’s dowry, traditionally gifted by the groom’s family and considered her personal property, which she could keep and use according to her wishes. The embroidered motifs and techniques featured on the headdress are characteristic of the Jaffa region’s village dress traditions and are also found on women’s garments from the area.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","dates":"ca. 1930","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 48 cm; width 32cm","place_of_production":"Jaffa villages, Palestine","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Accessory; Wedding; Marriage; Ceremony; Ornamentation"],"materials":["Cotton, silk, coins"]},"8ef1e4eb-e7ca-506a-8117-7e5c9d0e9a18":{"name":"Small Octagonal Pavilion Tent","short_description":"A tent comprising eight contiguous panels, each measuring 211cm x 135cm, and an octagonal canopy of eight triangular pieces. The plain-weave cotton exterior is embroidered with silk and metallic yarns, and the interior is lined with woven silk panels.  \nThe exterior of the tent is a plain-weave cotton, which is resistant to sunlight and less likely to be damaged by rain, while the interior is lined with more fragile and luxurious silk fabric. The form of this small pavilion tent inevitably recalls the shape of medieval Iranian octagonal tomb structures or gunbad, whose decorative brickwork frequently includes corner columns or \"tent poles.\"  \nOne of the eight wall panels is designed to open as an entrance, and the central part of each wall panel is embellished by a fabric \"grille\" that clearly imitates Persian wooden or metal grille-work. The design provides plenty of shade and privacy coupled with maximum air circulation, and the door panel could be closed for additional privacy.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 345.4cm x Width: 406.4cm x Diamter: 406.4cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Rasht, Persia (Iran), Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Octagonal; Pavillion; Tent; Textile; Silk; Cotton; Metallic; Yarn; Rasht; Persia; Iran; Asia; Persian"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, metallic yarns"]},"90f24fd2-747c-586e-b28c-441b69be0537":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment of silk velvet came from the tent of Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566). The tent would have been seized by the sultan’s troops during one of the campaigns the Ottomans conducted in Persia from 1534 to 1554. Like the other fragments of the tent that have survived, it shows the refinement of the Persian textile arts in the 16th century, as well as their close links with miniatures. The execution of the figurative and floral motifs is highly accomplished. The design derives from the famous story of Khusraw and Shirin told in the poet Nizami’s *Khamsa* and illustrated in a great many miniatures. In that scene, Khusraw, who does not appear here, is usually shown with his finger to his lips in a gesture calling for silence. Another fragment of the tent is in the Keir Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art. The Montreal Museum of Fine Art’s fragment shows Shirin bathing, her clothing hung on the branches of a tree and her saddled horse nearby. Unlike the other surviving fragments, the inscription “amal Ghiyāth Al-Dīn Djāmī” on the saddle enables the piece to be attributed to the celebrated Safavid weaver Ghiyāth Al-Dīn Djāmī. According to Ackerman, Djāmī was not only a virtuoso weaver, but also one of the masters of the royal library. Eight other pieces attest to the fact that the weaver was active during the second half of the 16th century.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"16th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"31cm x 58cm","provenance":"Iran, Tabriz","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Adolph Loewi, Los Angeles, in 1951, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Coulin Weibel, Adele, *Two Thousand Years of Textiles*, New York: Pantheon, 1952, no. 132.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 62.  \nUpham Pope, Arthur, and Phyllis Ackerman, *A Survey of Persian Art*, London: Oxford University Press, 1964, vol. VI, 1938‒9.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","materials":["Silk with golden and silver threads"]},"9162226d-73d0-5c61-8640-f03def3fa40a":{"name":"Pearl Trader’s Pearl Pouch","short_description":"This colourful little bag would have contained a pearl merchant's most priced pearls. Many such bags could be found in a pearl merchant's chest, each one containing a particular grade of pearl, determined by their shape, colour and level of surface perfection.","type":"Pouch","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Overall width c. 150 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","materials":["Cotton fabric with multi-coloured, cotton embroidery threads"],"artist":"Unknown"},"91ab6224-2ce2-5787-a444-869b675ead5e":{"name":"Camel cover","description":"Because of their comparatively low weight, their durability, multifunctionality and their versatility in design, flatweaves and pile weavings were of great importance for a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle. Large tent bags, throws, or hangings were prominently displayed, especially on treks. This kilim belongs to a group of pieces that were used as camel covers. When thrown over a loaded animal, the large-patterned sections hang down on either side, while the solid red centre section envelops the humps and back. The surface design, coloration and patterning of the piece are characteristic of southwestern Anatolia and refer to the Fethiye region. A full description of how such pieces were used and their design was illustrated in detail by Harald Böhmer in 2004 (English edition 2008). The Dresden piece is in excellent condition. It shows a clear, skilful pattern and colour design and appealing, well-balanced details, such as the bright, lateral line pattern separating the zigzag of the red background and blue border.","type":"Animal trapping","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"20th century, first half, probably around 1930","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 347cm, Width: 140cm","provenance":"South West Anatolian, Fethiye region","obtention":"Among other pieces from their private collection this camel cover was donated to the museum by Hans-Jörg Schwabl and Roland Steffan in 2011 in appreciation for more than 10 years of presentations and activities in the field of carpet and textile art.","bibliography":"Black, D. and Loveless, C., *The Undiscovered Kilim*, London: David Black Oriental Carpets, (1977): plate 10.  \nBöhmer, H., *Nomads in Anatolia: Encounters with a Vanishing Culture*, Ganderkesee: Remhöb-Verlag, 2008: 220f (see images pages 221, 222, 224).","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Animal decoration"],"materials":["Wool; slit tapestry weave, interlock weave, floating wefts, wrapping wefts (contour thread)"]},"94a5375c-0f26-51bb-b2ed-85c5c6b0cf18":{"name":"Portière (*kapı perdesi*)","short_description":"Used mostly to embellish garments, furnishings or household items, Islamic embroidery is also present on large textiles. The most important is *kiswa*, the cover enclosing the Ka'ba, which is sent every year to Mecca at the time of the pilgrimage. Over the door of the Ka'ba hangs an embroidery called *sitara*, decorated with inscriptions in different calligraphic styles. The present embroidery was probably destined to cover a mosque door. The rounded arch in the centre recalls the shape of the *mihrab* and its representation on prayer rugs. The entire surface of the cover, made from yellow, red, black, and turquoise pieces of silk, is decorated with cartouches and rosettes filled with vegetal and epigraphic motifs embroidered in the *dival* technique, i.e. over a base of paper or wool. The inscriptions, some of which were written in mirror-image, are illegible.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Height: 317cm, Width: 209cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"Transferred in 1949 from the Toma Stelian Museum in Bucharest.","bibliography":"Beldescu, A., *Broderii turceşti*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 1997: 14, cat. no.1.  \nDunca, M., *Scrierea în arta islamică*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2000: 66, cat. no. 40.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Mirror inscription"],"materials":["Silk embroidered with silver-gilt thread"]},"9543dd9a-7bf0-51dd-86f0-064bea14a470":{"name":"Asbe woman's headdress","description":"Traditional Jordanian headpieces worn across northern and central Jordan, crafted from richly patterned fabric woven in Syria using the brocade technique. The headpiece is worn wrapped around the head and placed on top, traditionally appearing in black or red.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 125 cm and 147 cm; width: 125 cm and 138 cm","place_of_production":"Central Jordan (Salt,  Karak, Jordan Valley)","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["Clothing; Brocade; Textile; weave; silk"],"materials":["Silk, metal"]},"97d4beaa-5849-5058-abb5-afc6bdc006cd":{"name":"Tapestry ‘after the Indian Manner’","description":"A tapestry with a number of colourful scenes and figure groups arranged on small islands decorated with exotic birds and flowering plants on a dark brown ground. These include a couple standing under a canopy holding by servants in the centre, two girls standing in front of a zig-zag fence with a parrot at the upper left, a small pagoda and a group of a sitting and a standing man in the upper right, two musicians, one with a drum and the other with beaters (the musical instrument is missing) in the lower foreground, and a monkey sitting on a palm tree at the lower right corner. The borders are composed of garlands of flowers and fruit arranged in Chinese pots in the lower border, linked with bunches of a silk ribbon in the upper border, decorated with candlesticks (?) in the right and the left sides and parrots and herons at the corners.","type":"Wall tapestry","holder":"Eszterháza Kulturális, Kutató- és Fesztiválközpont","owner":"Eszterháza Kulturális, Kutató- és Fesztiválközpont, Fertőd-Eszterháza","dates":"Early 18th century","location":"Fertőd-Eszterháza","dimensions":"L: 175cm, W: 225cm; warp: 55/dm, weft: 90/dm; density: 5,5","method_for_datation":"John Vanderbank worked as the head of the Great Wardrobe workshop in London from 1689 to 1717. The cheaper versions of tapestries 'after Indian manner', made for commercial sale were woven in the later period of the Vanderbank's workshop.","method_for_provenance":"John Vanderbank as the head of the Great Wardrobe workshop in London from 1689 to 1717, provided tapestries woven with ‘chinoiserie’ designs inspired by Chinese and Indian sources, lacquer panels, printed textiles etc. for Queen Mary’s apartments at Kensington Palace in 1690. Later he produced a second series with similar designs, but less elaborate figures, as cheaper versions for commercial sale. Numerous examples of Vanderbank's less elaborate series are known from the early 1700s – including, within the National Trust's collection, a small panel at Nunnington Hall in Yorkshire (no. 980694). – which is very close to this tapestry. Another, more similar item from the L. V. Hart collection was sold at Christie’s, November 12, 1964, no. 162, and November 29, 1979, no. 107. (Standen 1980, 126, fig. 10.), which depicts the same arrangement of the island panels, the couple under a canopy, the musicians, the ladies standing in front of a zig-zag fence, the pagoda, a monkey sitting on a palm tree and is framed by the same border-design.","provenance":"London (?)","obtention":"Purchased from a private collection in xxxx","bibliography":"The tapestry is unpublished.  \n  \nStanden, E. A., “English Tapestries ‘After the Indian Manner’” , *Metropolitan Museum Journal*, 15 (1980): 119-142.","workshop":"Probably made in the Great Wardrobe tapestry workshop of John Vanderbank the elder, on Great Queen Street, Covent Garden in London","author":"Emese Pásztor","keywords":["\"Indian Manner - Chinoiserie\"; Chinese influence; Decorative arts; Exotic birds; Exotic flowering plants; Figurative decoration; Floral decoration; Indian influence; Silk; Warp; Wool"],"materials":["Warp: wool, weft: wool, silk"]},"9a5f6ab0-8a7b-5628-869a-8623164a2cfe":{"name":"*Invasion of the French camp. The Swiss refuse to advance despite the interventions of their leaders*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the border of two tapestries in the series. Furthermore, the presence of the mark has allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: that is, after 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and by the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014).  \nThis tapestry depicts one of the decisive moments of the Battle of Pavia: the civilians are escaping from the French encampment, which is being attacked by the imperial troops, in the vicinity of the Vernavola river, through the breaches made in the wall of Visconti Park during the siege. The episode provides an opportunity to show everyday narratives: a soldier in the foreground runs away, carrying off with him a couple of chickens, while he looks towards the viewer, involving us in the scene; a woman in the distance carries a basket with two geese; a friar, frightened, is running. In the foreground, the Swiss infantry (recognisable by the flag with a white cross) who had fought with the French, proving their courage and valour, all hope of victory lost and surrounded on all sides, yield to the imperial cavalry, throwing their pikes to the ground, deaf to the cries of their officers, and try to seek safety in flight or surrender. In the foreground, amongst the soldiers one can make out a drummer, a piper and a standard bearer with a longsword, figures who often recur in military iconography. The figure in the centre of the tapestry has been identified as the Swiss captain Jean de Diesbach, who offers himself up to the sword of the enemy cavalier so he can die with honour (Casali 1993).","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 435cm, W: 880cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"9afc3a98-4df9-5b49-8fc3-7de673068f6c":{"name":"Embroidered linen.","description":"An embroidered textile thought to have served either as a cover for a divan (low sofa seat); a quilt facing; or as a hanging such as a curtain for a door. It is made up of three vertical lengths of linen sewn together and embroidered. The lattice design is inspired by AH 10th- and 11th- / AD 16th- and 17th-century silk textiles, and contains rows of palmettes made up of tulips and carnations, with the edges of the palmettes shaped in the form of serrated leaves. The silk-thread colours of red, green, blue and yellow are typical of the period; the stitch used is a regular darning stitch with the length of three counted threads over the linen, and one under it. Silk embroidery of the AH 11th- / AD 17th-century was a relatively cheap option for those who wanted to enjoy sumptuous textiles, given that woven-silk fabrics were much more expensive.  \n  \nIt is sometimes difficult to distinguish between embroideries made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade. The pattern on this embroidery indicates that it was most probably made professionally in a workshop, because the composition relates strongly to similar designs found on woven-silk textiles of the time. This particular embroidery, unlike many similar to it in design, has no decorated border round its edges. This may suggest that it was used as a quilt facing. Quilts were backed with a sheet on one side; the edges of the sheet turned over the edge of the quilt, and lightly stitched on to the front where the quilt-facing would then be stitched too.","short_description":"It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Ottoman embroideries that were made by women at home and those worked by men in workshops for the trade, as both kinds are of such high quality, of which this is an example. With no borders, this embroidery was most probably used as a quilt facing.","type":"Ottoman textile","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 221 cm, width 143 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on contemporary Ottoman woven-silk textiles.","method_for_provenance":"The pattern of this embroidery relates strongly to those appearing on contemporary Turkish Ottoman woven-silk textiles.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Domestic furnishing; crafts and trade; floral decoration"],"materials":["Linen embroidered with coloured floss-silk threads."]},"9b960e40-8e8e-58fe-bdb1-3947c5bce14d":{"name":"Textile fragment with white ground with the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, surrounded by angels, tulips, roses and honeysuckle","short_description":"The image on the textile is of Our Lady of Victories (*Nikopoia*); she is holding the Christ Child, who has his arms outstretched in a gesture of the Crucifixion. Fabrics with Christian motifs were woven in the Ottoman Empire for liturgical vestments of the Orthodox liturgy and exported, Russia being an example. The Christian motif is framed by plants of Ottoman origin, such s the tulip and the honeysuckle.","type":"Ottoman textile fragment, lampas, gold lamella, Liturgical garment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"4th quarter of 16th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 55cm, W: 58cm","provenance":"Ottoman empire, Istanbul or Bursa","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Noever, Peter (ed), *Global Lab. Kunst als Botschaft. Asien und Europa 1500 - 1700. Ausstellung Museum für angewandte Kunst Wien, 03. Juni bis 27. September 2009*, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2009: cat. nr. 157 (97).","dynasty":"Ottoman","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-92909","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Christian themes; Liturgical vestment; Madonna; Tulip"],"materials":["Silk, gold lamella; Lampas"]},"9d7d8f95-c69d-5158-8fc8-44463428b5eb":{"name":"Shapeable cloak","description":"From the 1970s to the 1990s, important figures in fashion like Ursula Rodel, Ruth Grüninger, Hannes Bühler, Ida Gut, and Dorothee Vogel influenced the Swiss designer Christa de Carouge whose work represented a new departure for Swiss fashion. Japan also inspired her, and she created pieces that became a part of the women who wore them — which is especially true in the case of this cloak. Its silk fabric combined with copper wire allowed the wearer to shape it with her hands to create an object in the form she desired.","type":"Cloak","holder":"Swiss National Museum","owner":"Swiss Confederation","dates":"1994","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"H: 113cm","method_for_datation":"Information by the Designer","provenance":"Switzerland, Zurich","obtention":"Bought in 1994","workshop":"Jakob Schlaepfer AG, St. Gallen","keywords":["Shapeable; Coat; Silk; Christa de Carouge; Zurich"],"materials":["Silk, copper wire"]},"9ea5b136-b63e-5eb6-8022-d5574ad81fc3":{"name":"Velvet","short_description":"This rectangular fragment shows a typical composition with moon and sun.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 10th–11th century / AD 16th–17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 60 cm, length 152 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Velvet; fabric; textile; Ottoman textiles"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"9f93aaa3-18ce-5348-92f9-9826ae78f586":{"name":"Textile.","description":"This large textile is embroidered on ivory-coloured organzine with lightweight pale-green silk satin (*atlas*) used as a base. The piece is particularly intricate and extremely refined, and most of it was needle-embroidered using silver-plated copper thread. The principal decorative motif is an ornate centre that resembles a prayer niche (*mihrab*), which is formed by a poly-lobed arch standing on two small columns, within which hangs a mosque lamp. A double rectangular cornice rounds off the decoration of the fabric. Its entire surface has been finely worked with a rich variety of motifs, including naturalistic vegetal motifs (flowers, leaves and small cypress trees) and epigraphic motifs. The repeated appearance of the *tughra*, the official monogram of the sultan as stamped on state documents, is of particular interest. Other inscriptions reproduce religious words and expressions relating to the Qur'an, both to ward off evil (‘*ana gelse red*’’ – ‘if difficulties arise, drive them away’) and for good omens (‘*el'an ba ' d-din*’ – ‘always with faith’). This fabric results from the manufacture of prayer mats (*seccade*) during the Ottoman era at the end of the AH 13th / AD 19th century. This piece may have been produced in Turkey or Egypt, although it was probably made in Ottoman Palestine.","short_description":"This sumptuously decorated fabric is a *seccade*, or prayer mat, finely decorated with naturalistic, plant and epigraphic motifs. It also includes the *tughra* (monogram) of Sultan Mustafa IV.","type":"Silk, satin, organzine","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 277 cm, width 192 cm.","method_for_datation":"From stylistic analysis, confirmed by the *tughra*, which is a late reproduction of the *tughra* of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa IV (1222–3 / 1807–8).","method_for_provenance":"Through comparison with textile in the Museo del Tesoro di S. Pietro in the Vatican (see Orlando in Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey, Egypt or Palestine.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Fontana, M. V., “Un Seccade Ottomano Tardo Ottocentesco'” *Turcica et Islamica. Studi in Memoria di Aldo Gallotta, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale*”, Is.IAO, Series Minor, LXIV, Naples, 2003, pp.185–203.  \nOrlando, F. S., *Il Tesoro di S. Pietro*, Milan, 1958, p.90 and table 164.  \nTaylor R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993  \nTorre P., “Tessuto Ricamato di Epoca Ottomana”, in *Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali: Acquisizioni e Donazioni 1999–2000*, Rome, 2002, pp.72–3.  \nTorre P., “Arte Tessile di Epoca Ottomana nei Corredi di una Famiglia di Aleppo”, in *Un Oriente di Seta e d'Oro* (ed. P. Torre), Rome, 2003, pp.32–56.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textile; floral decoration; calligraphy; embroidery; tughra; mihrab; seccade; prayer mat"],"materials":["Silk satin and organzine embroidered with metal thread."]},"a1e1c4a1-795f-51e4-afb8-1a29468bb285":{"name":"Receptacle","short_description":"This container for short cavalry spears (*dschirid*) comprises a high cylindrical case made of blue damask embroidered with arabesques and crescent moons in gold and red silk. Set among these purely ornamental motifs is a tulip with red embroidered petals. Mounted Ottoman warriors used the short lances originally stored in this receptacle both in battle and in equestrian games; they were thrown at a target by a warrior mounted on a galloping horse.","holder":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD 16th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"Length: 92cm","method_for_datation":"Comparison with similar objects","method_for_provenance":"ILG / BOEHEIM, 1883  \nInventory of Furniture and Small Artefacts held at Ambras Castle, page 6","provenance":"Turkey?","obtention":"Collection of Ambras castle; documented since AD 1882","bibliography":"Sandbichler, Veronika, *Türkische Kostbarkeiten aus dem Kunsthistorischen Museum Wien*, exh. cat., Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1997.  \nScheicher, Elisabeth et al. (eds), *Kunsthistorisches Museum Sammlungen Schloss Ambras. Die Kunstkammer*, Innsbruck: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1977.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Veronika Sandbichler, Thomas Kuster","copy_editor":"Liz Cooper","keywords":["Ottoman army; military object; embroidery; arabesque; floral motifs; floral decoration; horsemanship; textile; textile; embroides; ottoman empire"],"materials":["Damast, gold embroidery"]},"a319402b-f899-522c-a00d-0966b699e425":{"name":"Cloth","short_description":"This devotional textile would hang from the ceiling or walls inside the Kaaba, the Muslim house of God in Mecca. Qur’anic verses in different calligraphy styles appear printed on red silk. Sultans would drape the Kaaba’s interior walls in silk from China or India as a religious offering since the Mamluk sultan al-Nassir Hassan in 1359.  \n  \nIn medallions, *Tughra* calligraphy illustrates prayers and God’s names “the Merciful” and “the Generous”. The opening chapter of the Qur’an *al-Fatiha* and the *shahada* or declaration of faith rest between serrated lines in *thuluth* calligraphy.  \n  \nProtected from environmental factors inside the Kaaba, Muslim rulers would not change the interior silks annually but wash them twice a year. As a form of worship, the bestowal of this cloth would simultaneously achieve closeness to the shrine for blessings, reinforce the sanctity of the Kaaba and remind of the sultan’s power and prestige.","type":"Religious relics","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"19th century","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 120cm, Width: 76.5cm","place_of_production":"Syria","method_for_datation":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, calligraphy, and style.","method_for_provenance":"The date and origin were established in research-based comparison from an examination of material, calligraphy, and style.","provenance":"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mecca","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Basahih, N. A., \"Crafting the Kaaba Kiswa’s, context and traditional practices\", *Australia, Perth: Futuring Craft IOTA21 Conference*, (2021).  \nBehrens-Abouseif, D., *Practising diplomacy in the Mamluk sultanate: Gifts and material culture in the medieval Islamic world*, London / New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.  \nHutchings, T., and McKenzie, J. (eds), *Materiality and the study of religion: The stuff of the sacred*, London: Taylor & Francis, 2016.  \nPersson, H., \"Chinese Silks in Mamluk Egypt\", *Global Textile Encounters* ,(2018): 107–118.  \nSardi, M., \"Weaving for the Hajj under the Mamluks\", *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, 2013: 169–174.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Syria; Ottoman; Saudi Arabia; Mecca; Kaaba; Silk; Textiles"],"materials":["Silk, wood; print"]},"a4efc787-cbd4-5a26-bc2a-aa36772b6549":{"name":"Tent.","description":"This tent belongs to the type of double-columned, rectangular tents with an oval floor plan. It consists of two rectangular walls, each of nine sections, and a roof. The two roof sections of the long sides and the triangular pieces of the short sides form a covering that resembles a vault. The tent roof and the walls are fastened to each other by a toggle and loop system. On the interior and exterior of the tent, this joint section is hidden by a valance. The lower edge of the tent wall also has a valance. The ceiling is supported by two columns. The wall sections do not have struts, but are made taut by guy ropes.  \nThe outer shell of the tent is of plain verdigris cloth. Only the inner shell of red cloth is decorated with a rich array of patterns. The composition and the motifs of this tent conform to general Ottoman tent ornamentation showing columns, arches, vases and medallions. A section of the wall was taken as a basic unit and its scheme of decoration was repeated on each of the other sections. The arches are filled with medallions called 'sun' (*şemse*). Each of the pointed medallions shows a great variety of flowers growing out from vase motifs. The dense floral infilling of the medallions and the borders presents the illusion of a garden. The arch and column motif likewise occurs on the ceiling of the tent. The ceiling with a band of star motifs between the two columns of the tent symbolises the sky.  \nThe ornamentation is worked in the hemmed appliqué technique. Pieces of silk fabric in various shapes and colours in combination with small pieces of leather were sewn to a ground to form patterns. It was carried out by placing a maximum of five layers of fabric on top of each other.  \nThe Swedes were never directly engaged in war against the Ottomans. Fighting against the Saxons, they captured a great deal of booty, also coming into ownership of Turkish tents.","short_description":"Tent with an oval floor plan and two columns. The walls and roof are decorated with flowers and trees growing out of vases – the perfect illusion of a garden. In addition, the roof forming a vault shows a band of stars in the middle of the ceiling, symbolising the sky.","type":"Cotton, silk, embroidery","holder":"Army Museum.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 4.13 m, circumference 30 m.","method_for_datation":"The tent was captured from the Ottomans in 1683 following their failed siege of Vienna so it can be assumed that its date of manufacture was in the years before.","method_for_provenance":"It was captured from the Turks. The tent shows traditional Ottoman form.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"The tent came into the personal possession of the Swedish King Charles II in 1702. It was acquired by the Army Museum in 1898.","bibliography":"Atasoy, N., *Otag-i Hümayun: The Ottoman Imperial Tent Complex*, Istanbul, 2000.  \nKlingberg, G., Wallenborg, I. and Andersson, A., “Ett Blommande Turkiskt 1600 Talstält”, *Armémuseum Rapport*, no. 3, Stockholm, 1987.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Tent; textiles; appliqué technique; floral decoration"],"materials":["Cotton, silk, leather; appliqué."]},"a5d9b0f5-29b8-59b7-a686-aa28e8c93f06":{"name":"Cushion cover.","description":"A hand-woven cushion cover of rectangular form that would have been used to back the low divans or sofas in Ottoman palaces from the AH 10th / AD 16th century onwards. The cushion is made of crimson-red voided velvet (a technique whereby the pile is cropped so short that the structure and colour of the field can be seen), and woven with green and cream threads. The composition is typical of the period, with a central field and two arched boarders; a large floral medallion fills the central field in this example. Having completed such a cover, the weaver did not cut it off the loom, but inserted a wooden baton between the Warp and the weft, and began on the next cover.","short_description":"This cushion cover is made of a crimson-red voided velvet, where parts of its pile have been cropped very short so that the structure and colours of the warp and weft are exposed, creating an elaborate floral pattern. This type of velvet was sought after both within the Ottoman Empire and beyond.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk, velvet","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 129 cm, width 65 cm.","method_for_datation":"Artistic analysis: the elements of the pattern (a central field and two arched boarders; a large floral medallion in the central field) are a recurring theme in a variety of Turkish textiles and ceramics from the 10th / 16th century onwards.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Part of the collection given to the City of Glasgow by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Court life; the harem; floral decoration"],"materials":["Hand-woven silk velvet."]},"a8fb3f11-1722-5b52-88a0-02f16ae87377":{"name":"Suzani '*palak*'","short_description":"“*Suzani*” or “*suzane*” derives from the Persian word \"*suzan*\" for \"needle\" and refers to bright silk embroidered wall hangings and bedspreads that adorned homes of people on festive occasions. The *suzani* culture developed in the ancient centres of agriculture and urban civilization of Central Asia (Turkestan) that for centuries served as points on international trade routes of the Great Silk Road.  \nThis is an excellent sample of an old Tashkent *suzani* called *palak*. This was the only kind of *suzani* where solar and astral motifs dominate over vegetative ones. According to ethnographical research data, big circles of the traditional *palak* pattern represent the moon and stars that were believed to provide good health and enhance female reproductive ability.  \nThe whole surface of the piece is entirely embroidered. Only natural dyes were used to colour the threads of the *suzani*. The dating of the item is supported by the bright hue of cochineal red dye, which was in use until the 1890s.","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"Second half of AD 19th century (1860s–70s)","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 273cm, Width: 203cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by C. Abdullayev (examination, 1960-s, date, origin), H. Rudyk (publication, 2011, date specified).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register.","provenance":"Tashkent, Central Asia","obtention":"Purchased by the Khanenko Museum in 1962. Private collection of A.I. Rabinovych.","bibliography":"Izrailova, A., \"Suzani Vernacular: Technique and Design in the Central Asian Dowry Embroideries\", *Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings*, 6 (1998): 301–309.  \nMalik, C., \"Suzani Embroidery of Uzbekistan\", in Jasleen Dhamija (ed), *Asian Embroidery*, New Delhi: Shakti Malik Abhinav Publications, 2004: 85–92.  \nRudyk, H. (ed). *Suzani - Amulet of Life: Ritual embroidery from Central Asia of 19th - 20th centuries from private collections of Ukraine and the Khanenko Museum's holdings*, Kyiv: The Khanenko Museum, 2011.  \nSukhareva, O., Suzani. *Central Asian Decorative Embroidery*, Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura RAN, 2006.","dynasty":"Russian protectorate","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Suzani; silk; embroidery; Central Asia; Tashkent"],"materials":["Silk embroidery on hand-woven cotton (mate) ground; *bosma*, *ilmog* and *yurma* techniques"]},"a99cf552-1072-57f5-8df5-32e5ba6b0d48":{"name":"Velvet saddle cloth","short_description":"This saddle cloth is made from two lengths of fabric sewn down the centre and woven with a mirror-image design on either side. A characteristic Ottoman flora of carnations, tulips with pomegranates proliferates from a central ogival cartouche. This exceptionally fine textile was probably never used and is in a pristine condition. A similar saddle cloth is in Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo.","type":"Ottoman equestrian textile, Cotton, lamella","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 10th century / AD late 16th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 185 cm","provenance":"Bursa","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Ottoman textile; Floral motifs; Saddle; decoration; textile"],"materials":["Silk, gilt metallic thread"]},"aa65e43b-2697-5ab6-8268-8bf7323bae3c":{"name":"Qashqa´i kilim","description":"In the 11th century, the Turkic peoples immigrated from Central Asia to Persia and probably lived first in northwestern Persia. It is unknown when the Qashqa´i moved to the southwest, but certainly at the latest when Turkmen conquered the Fars region in the middle of the 15th century. Many ethnic groups in southern and southwestern Persia, including several non-Turkmen, produced pile weavings and flatweaves. We have mainly come across works dating from the end of the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century. Due to confederations, pattern transfers and other considerations, it is not always possible to make a clear tribal attribution, especially with flatweaves. Some pieces are called \"Qashqa´i\" to indicate the outstanding quality of the work. The colour canon, pattern and shape, as well as material and fineness of this piece, suggest that it is a work of the Darashuri (sub-tribe of the Qashqa´i). The infinite repetition of colour-changing diamonds in free succession, often filled with diamonds and smaller cross shapes, appears both cheerful and unconstrained as well as powerfully determined. With its free, lively design, this flatweave is a characteristic example of a slit tapestry by southwestern Persia nomads.","type":"Carpet/cover/hanging","holder":"Museum für Völkerkunde Dresden (Ethnological Museum Dresden), Dresden State Art Collections","dates":"Late 19th century–early 20th century","location":"Dresden, Saxony","dimensions":"Length: 260cm, Width: 150cm","provenance":"South West Persian, Fars region","obtention":"Purchased from a Dresden private household in 1984.","bibliography":"Opie, J., *Tribal Rugs*, Portland, London: Laurence King Publishing, 1992: 116, plate 7.14.  \nPetsopoulos, Y., *Der Kelim*, Munich: Prestel, 1980: no. 388, 391.  \nRippon Boswell & Co., *Katalog Nr. 40. Große Frühjahrsauktion*, Wiesbaden: Rippon Boswell & Co, 1994: no. 172.  \nSadighi, H. and Hawkes, K., *Kelims der Nomaden und Bauern Persiens*, Berlin: Galerie Neiriz, 1990: plate 37, 39, 40.","author":"Simone Jansen","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Tribal"],"materials":["Wool; slit tapestry weave"]},"aed82efb-32d2-5811-bb33-9c50bdadf8ac":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"This fragment is an exceptional example of Buyid dynasty (945–1055) textiles from both a historical and an aesthetic viewpoint. The frieze is adorned with two-headed eagles carrying a winged creature and with stylized trees. The light-brown motifs are embellished with epigraphs that are particularly noticeable on the tops of the trees and on the band bordering the textile’s upper edge. The fragment’s style and iconography are similar to those of a group of four textiles discovered in the ancient necropolis of Nakhara Khanah, near Rayy. It remains to be determined whether this textile was designed to serve as a shroud or was selected from the belongings of the deceased.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"11th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"21cm x 51.5cm","method_for_datation":"The date was attributed by Gaston Wiet, *Soieries persanes*, Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1948: pp. 35–41, no. 4. Two comparable examples are in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art (nos. 55.52 and 62.264).","provenance":"Iran, Rayy","obtention":"Gift of F. Cleveland Morgan  \nGift of F. Cleveland Morgan in 1946, purchased from the Iranian Institute in New York the same year","bibliography":"Coulin Weibel, Adele, *Two Thousand Years of Textiles*, New York: Pantheon, 1952: 107.  \nGrube, Ernst J., *The World of Islam*, Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1966: 42.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 64.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1–2 (1992): 19–29, 19, fig. 1.  \nShepherd, Dorothy G., “Medieval Persian Silks in Fact and Fancy”, *Bulletin de liaison du CIETA (Centre internationale d'étude des textiles anciens)*, 39‒40 (1974): 1–135.  \nUpham Pope, Arthur, *Masterpieces of Persian Art*, New York: Dryden Press, 1945: 72.  \nWiet, Gaston, *Soieries persanes*, Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1948: 10.","dynasty":"Buyid (945–1055)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Persian textile; Buyid art; silks; epigraphs; Islamic textile"],"materials":["Silk"]},"b0034e9d-b0b0-5bbc-a3c7-5d26a2e4d496":{"name":"Textile","description":"Cotton textile made in twill weave. The complete surface is decorated, in different colours, with the writing decoration in silver and white lines.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"68 x 48 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design; Islamic influence"],"materials":["Cotton and silver; tabby or plain weave, twill weave and stecilled decoration"],"artist":"Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo"},"b0fa7fe2-6439-5e4b-b775-f8024f171d3b":{"name":"Military banner","short_description":"This large banner was designed by the Ottoman calligrapher Sami Effendi (Hegira 1254–1330 / AD 1838–1912). It is inscribed with Qur’anic verses, praises of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, proclamation of faith, and sayings. The inscription brocaded on the main field reflects the invocation used in war and combat. The signature of the calligrapher, Sami Effendi appears at the bottom right of this central rectangle panel, with an inscription that reads “Contentment is an everlasting treasure”.  \nSami Effendi’s father, Mahmud Effendi was the head of the quilt makers who was also involved in the preparation of banners and flags. The delicacy of the design reflects his experience and well deserved reputation as a renowned calligrapher. Large banner, or *sanjak*s, such as this was known to have been used to define the military districts of the Ottoman empire. They were mounted onto buildings or ships during expeditions, carried on poles during ceremonies and guarded well in war times.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"325 x 210cm","provenance":"Turkey","bibliography":"Burhan, Emiroglu, *Askeri Muzee: Military Museum*, Istanbul: Ak Yanlar, 1983. Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Symbols of Power and Beauty: The collection of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2015: 72-74. *Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia*, Volume 2, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2015: 330-331.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Brocaded silk and gilt threads"]},"b3b30c50-746b-58e7-9d2b-8bf0e782271e":{"name":"Tiraz Textile","short_description":"This linen textile with its regal purple inscription naming the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir has lost much of it original length due to its use as a burial shroud. However, it preserves almost its full width, spanned by the decorative inscription band. Known as a “*tiraz*” textile, it is unusually wide and was perhaps a shawl. The term “*tiraz*” actually means “embroidery,” but came to denote an inscription band as one sees on these textiles and on anything else, including architecture. Most of the medieval textiles discovered in excavations in Egypt had been used as burial shrouds and have suffered similar deterioration. Only those that found their way into European church treasuries are well preserved and give us an idea of how the full garment appeared. *Tiraz* textiles, despite their Arabic inscriptions, were highly valued in Europe as relics of the Holy Land and appear as the costumes of Christ and the Virgin in Italian Renaissance paintings.","type":"Textile","holder":"Aga Khan Museum","dates":"Second half of 11th century","location":"Toronto, Ontario","dimensions":"82 x 57cm","provenance":"Egypt","obtention":"Purchased at auction","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Alessandra Cirelli","keywords":["Textile; tiraz; tiraz-textile; linen; tabby; tapestry; woven; inscription; linen-textile"],"materials":["Linen tabby; with purple, yellow, and blue silk, and undyed linen tapestry-woven inscription"]},"b6282964-23a4-5cdd-b1c4-c5430389d505":{"name":"Cover","short_description":"Silk velvet textile fragment in a pattern of staggered rows of carnation flower-heads growing out of tulip buds, with serrated leaves and diminutive trees in the interstices. Brocaded and voided velvet with metal thread.","type":"Textile Furnishings, silk velvet","holder":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Kuwait City","provenance":"Turkey, Bursa","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Ottoman textile fragment; Floral motifs; textile"]},"b6c68555-4721-5c09-8439-5598ae6f7fdd":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A textile fragment of plain-woven linen with tapestry-woven decorative bands executed in silk, the pattern comprising three horizontal, superposed decorative bands, each separated by areas of plain weaving. The uppermost band, flanked by golden scrolling borders with red outlines and blue detailing, contains a zigzag band with a simple scroll outlined in red on a golden ground. Blue trident-like motifs fill the remaining spaces above and below the zigzag pattern. Below this is a slightly narrower decorative stripe that has a cursive inscription set against a deep-red background, flanked by stylised split-palmette borders above and below. The third and narrowest band has a central wavy green strip on a gold background, and two gold palmette-scroll borders set on a red ground.  \n  \nThis textile fragment is a good example of the artistic influence that the Coptic communities who settled in Egypt had on textile production during the Fatimid period. There remains to this day a sizeable Coptic population in Egypt.","short_description":"Islamic Egypt was famed for the production of sophisticated wool, linen and silk textiles made in specialist workshops. These were manned by Coptic Christian textile workers as well as Muslims. This textile was collected by Henry Wallis (1830–1916), a famous painter and expert on Middle Eastern ceramics.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen, tapestry silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 6th century / AD 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height 33.02 cm, width 33.02 cm.","method_for_datation":"This textile has been tentatively dated to the 6th/12th century on the basis of general similarities with other textiles of the Fatimid period.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"From a tomb at al-Drounka, Egypt.","obtention":"This textile together with several other Fatimid textile fragments were acquired by NMS in 1898 from Henry Wallis, a famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, who travelled and painted extensively in Egypt and elsewhere. Subsequently he became a highly respected expert on Egyptian and Persian ceramics.","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Al-Drounka; linen; silk; Henry Wallis; Fatimid textiles; textile"],"materials":["Plain-woven linen, and tapestry-woven silk."]},"b7f46ff9-52a1-5495-80f5-c075d3bfc0da":{"name":"*Defeat of the French cavalry. The imperial infantry seize the enemy’s artillery*","description":"The famous series of seven Flemish tapestries depicting the Battle of Pavia, which are displayed in a large room in the Museum of Capodimonte, entered the public collections as part of the 1862 bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos, who donated his family’s collection to the National Museum of Naples.  \nProduced to be given to Emperor Charles V by the Estates-General of Brussels, on the occasion of the latter’s meeting in Brussels in 1531, the decorative series of tapestries was designed to celebrate the victory of the imperial troops over those of the French, under the command of Francis I. This victory, which occurred on 24 February 1525, was fought in the environs of the Visconti Park, at the gates of Pavia.  \nWoven in Brussels, the tapestries were produced using designs by Bernard van Orley (now in the Louvre in Paris) in the workshop of William Dermoyen (or Van der Moyen), identified thanks to the presence of a weaver’s mark on the right-hand border of the fabric; this mark can also be observed on another tapestry in the series. The presence of the weaver’s mark has also allowed the years in which the series was produced to be established: between 1528, the year in which a decree required tapestry workers to “sign” their products, and the start of 1531, given that the tapestries would be presented to the Emperor in the March of that year.  \nRecently, an interpretation of the entire cycle has been proposed that aims to recreate sequentially the landscape depicted in the seven tapestries as a single, panoramic, overview (Paredes 2014). According to this perspective, the tapestry examined here should be read in close continuity with the subject represented in *Advance of the imperial troops*. In fact, by juxtaposing the two tapestries one can reconstruct, as C. Paredes suggests, the landscape and the troop movements on the battlefield. In particular, in the foreground one can recognise the group of imperial arquebusiers, led by their commander, Fernando Francesco d’Avalos, who is identified by the letters “MAR. DE PES” (an abbreviation of “Marquis of Pescara”) on the neck of his horse. In the centre, further writing, “MARQ.IS DU VASTE”, indicates the presence on the battlefield of Alfonso d’Avalos, Marquis of Vasto. On the right is depicted the ferocious battle between the imperial landsknechts, led by Georg von Frundsberg, distinguished by their white and red sashes, and the mercenary troops of the “Banda Nera”, in the service of the French. Noting the detail of the capture of the French artillery in the panoramic overview extending into the preceding tapestry, as mentioned above, it is possible to discern that the French canons have stopped firing to avoid striking the back of their King, who, breaking through the ranks, throws himself at the enemy, just as sources describe.  \nThis tapestry, along with three others in the series, still has its original border, with decorative motifs in which flowers, fruit, birds and animals are depicted. However, according to a description from the 1770s, the lower borders originally introduced decorative motifs with tritons and sea horses, similar to those that appear in the *Hunts of Maximilian*, another series of tapestries produced for Charles V by the same workshop from designs by van Orley, and today in the Louvre. Hence, the entire lower strip, detached some time after the 1770s and subsequently reassembled, appears to have been re-sewn using parts of the borders of other tapestries, which now are missing them, and which were originally intended to adorn the vertical edge of the fabric (Buchanan 2002).","type":"Flemish tapestry","holder":"Museum of Capodimonte","owner":"Museum of Capodimonte","dates":"1528–1531","location":"Naples","dimensions":"H: 439cm, W: 867cm","method_for_datation":"Various sources and studies","provenance":"Brussels","obtention":"Bequest of Alfonso d’Avalos to the National Museum of Naples (the Italian State) in 1862","bibliography":"AA. VV (ed.), *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia*, Milan: Bompiani, 1999.  \nArbace, Lucia, *Fasti d’Avalos: dagli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia alle Selle da parata*, Chieti: Litografia Botolini, 2012.  \nBuchanan, Iain, “The ‘Battle of Pavia’ and the Tapestry Collection of Don Carlos: New Documentation”, *The Burlington Magazine*, vol. 144, no. 1191 (2002): 345‒51.  \nCasali, Luigi, Fraccaro, Cristina, and Prina, Vittorio, *Gli Arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia del Museo di Capodimonte a Napoli*, Pavia: Edizioni ViGiEffe, 1993.  \nParedes, Cecilia, “The tapestries of the battle of Pavia” (2014), online publication.  \n“Pavia. La Battaglia, il futuro. ‘niente fu come prima’” (2015), online publication.  \nSansone, M. R., *Gli arazzi della Battaglia di Pavia: dalla Spagna di Carlo V alla Napoli dei d’Avalos, in 1525‒2015. Pavia, la Battaglia, il Futuro. Niente fu come prima* (publication to accompany the exhibition at the Visconti Castle, Pavia, 14 June‒15 November 2015).","workshop":"William Dermoyen atelier","author":"Maria Rosaria Sansone, Giovanna Garraffa","translator":"Judith Forshaw, Giovanna Garraffa","translation_copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Flemish tapestries; Battle of Pavia; National Archaeological Museum; Alfonso d’Avalos; Francesco Fernando d’Avalos; Fernando Francesco d’Avalos; Francis I; Visconti Park; Bernard van Orley; Willem Dermoyen; Carlo V; atelier; frames; preparatory cartoons; drawings"],"materials":["Wool, silk and cotton; gold and silver thread"]},"b914b3ad-c4ec-5742-a411-fc1720a3eb43":{"name":"Embroidery","short_description":"This embroidery fragment is decorated with colourful flower arrangements placed in staggered rows on a cream-coloured ground.","type":"Embroidery; textile; fabric","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 94 cm, length 125 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Embroidery; fabric; textile; Ottoman textiles; floral motifs"],"materials":["Embroidery"]},"bb7952b6-4d91-5465-865c-1ced864ef922":{"name":"Painted wall-hanging: The Day of Judgement (*Ruz-e mahshar*)","short_description":"A painted wall-hanging depicts the *Day of Judgement* from a Shi'ite perspective in Isfahan. The main theme is the reward given in paradise to the martyrs who fell at Kerbala on 10 October 680, corresponding to the Islamic date 10 Muharram 61, and the agonies of their enemies on Judgement Day. Elements of Christian iconography are present. There is the trumpeting angel who blows into the bugle at the Last Judgement; the receiving of the arisen into heaven; the two angels who attend to the weighing scale of the souls; the chosen ones who await their entry into paradise; the blood witnesses who in advance enjoy the delights of paradise; and finally those of different faiths and traitors, who, already condemned, stand before the infernal ground. There are also new elements: the prophet of Islam is now an established, important figure, and Christ, the judge of the world, assumes the part of a precursor-prophet.","type":"Textile","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 350cm, W: 370cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"Catalog entry: \"Purchased from Saeed Motamed, Frankfurt am Main, 1958.\"","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"The Day of Judgement, Ruz-e mahshar\", in Christian Schicklgruber (ed), *Weltmuseum Wien, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 268-269.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton, pigment"]},"bcb08e82-a842-5d85-bc9a-00e84a746ec1":{"name":"Dragon Sileh (Zili) rug or Verneh (Varni) Cover","description":"This rug, originally intended as a cover, was woven in two pieces and sewn together in the middle. Also known as \"Dragon Zili\" rugs, these carpets were mainly woven in the Jabrail District of Artsak (Nagorno-Karabagh), using the soumak technique. Their characteristic pattern consists of stylized dragons in the shape of an \"S\" aligned in horizontal and vertical rows. The colour of the dragon alternates; their bodies are filled with tinier \"S\" motifs; the spaces in between with human, animal, and geometric patterns. In Azerbaijan and Russian literature, such items are called *Verneh* (Varni) covers. Its speciality lies in the fact that the direction of the \"S\"-shaped dragons in the bottom row of the right side is opposite the rest.","type":"Flatwoven cover","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"19th century","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 290cm + 24 cm fringe, Width: 221cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Caucasus, Karabagh","obtention":"Donated by Dr. Ottó Fettick, 1949","bibliography":"Gombos, Károly, Kaukasische Webteppiche/Caucasian Flat-woven Rugs, *Ars Decorativa*, 6 (1979): 165, and figure 6.  \nKovács, B., and Pál, E. (eds), *Far Away from Mount Ararat: Armenian Culture in the Carpathian Basin*, exhibition Catalogue, Budapest: National Széchényi Library (Leipziger Universitätsverlag) - Budapest History Museum, 2013: 177, no. VI.8 \\[Emese Pásztor\\].  \nVoit, Pál (ed), *Régiségek könyve/Book of Antiquities*, Budapest: Gondolat, 1983: 444, figure 33.","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","translator":"Boldizsár Fejérvári","keywords":["Cotton; Dragon; Soumak; Weft wrapping; Wool"],"materials":["Warp: Wool; Weft: wool and cotton; Weft-wrapping: plain and countered soumak"]},"bf169ede-be12-53cb-9b5e-3959e1451970":{"name":"Tent hanging.","description":"This long, narrow, silk textile consists of a central field with a border. The central field shows a loosely conceived lattice composed of interconnected tulips, four of which face towards an eight-petalled rosette at every junction of the lattice. The spaces created by the lattice contain eight-pointed-star motifs; these in turn contain a central roundel enclosing an eight-petalled rosette with green trefoils and red serrated leaves, which extend outwards from the border of the roundels. The whole composition of the central field is set against a deep crimson background. The outer border consists of an inner and outer band with floral scrolling that encloses a central area enhanced by an intricate arabesque scroll.  \nTent hangings such as this one were used to adorn the interior ‘walls’ of tents used by royalty or high officials when they were away from their urban palaces.","short_description":"This silk tent panel, with its floral lattice design of tulip heads and rosettes enclosing central star motifs recalling imperial Ottoman textiles, is attributed to Syria on the basis of stylistic similarities with contemporary artefacts and textiles made in that important Ottoman province.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD late 16th–early 17th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 61.1 cm, width 12.7 cm.","method_for_datation":"The piece has been dated to the 11th / late 16th or early 17th century on the basis of stylistic comparison with contemporary artifacts and textiles from Ottoman Turkey and Syria.","method_for_provenance":"The piece has been attributed to Ottoman Syria on the basis of stylistic comparison with contemporary artifacts and textiles from that region.","provenance":"Syria.","obtention":"Purchased from Axia Islamic and Byzantine Art, London, in 1983.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Textile; tulip; arabesque; floral decoration; vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Woven silk rendered in crimson and green with silver thread."]},"bfdbe8a5-e335-5014-a461-8cecc5b16445":{"name":"A complete cover for a Damascus *mahmal*, with the name of Sultan Mehmed IV","short_description":"The *mahmal* was a ceremonial palanquin that represented the authority of the Sultan over the Holy Places. The Mamluk sultan Baybars (r. 1260 – 1277) is reported to be the first to have sent a mahmal with the caravan of pilgrims from Cairo, and the custom was continued under Ottoman rule and almost without interruption until the early 20th century. This, the earliest of seven mahmal covers in the Khalili Collections, is an example of a second mahmal which left Damascus with the caravan of Syrian and Turkish pilgrims. The Egyptian and Syrian mahmals were occasionally joined by a third mahmal from the Yemen.  \n  \nThe embroidered Qur’anic verses are apposite: the text on the pyramid top is Qur’an, *sura* *al-Ahzab* (XXXIII), verse 56, which mentions the Prophet; the band around the lower part has al-Baqara (II) verse 127, which refers to Abrahim and Isma‘il raising the foundations of the House, that is, the Ka‘ba. At the very top, below the finial, is *sura* *al-Nahl* (XVI), verse 7: ‘And they carry your heavy loads to lands that you could not otherwise reach except with souls distressed’.","type":"Textile; *mahmal* cover; Damascus mahmal; ceremonial palanquin; wire embroidery; Mehmed IV","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Cover dated Hejira 1067 / AD 1656–7; finials are of a later date","location":"London","dimensions":"355 x 190 x 174 cm, as assembled","method_for_datation":"The *mahmal* cover is dated.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","bibliography":"Behrens-Abouseif, D., “The mahmal legend and the pilgrimage of the ladies of the Mamluk court”, *Mamluk Studies Review*, 1 (1997): 87–96.  \nPorter, V., “The Mahmal Revisited”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L., (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 195–205.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Banner; Calligraphy; Camel; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Damascus; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Standard; Textile; Travel; Mecca; mahmal"],"materials":["Cover and finial banners of green silk, embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding; finials of gilded copper alloy are a of a later date"]},"c0c780b7-bc1e-5c06-ace4-ef7fefd9fa80":{"name":"Fragment of a [wall?] hanging","description":"This wool fragment from the Umayyad dynasty (AD 661–750) is adorned with a medallion depicting an eagle in shades of blue, green and yellow. The inside of the medallion’s dark-green border is dotted with 20 scrolls, while another series of scrolls topped by floral designs provides its outline. Geometric and plant motifs are visible in the corners. Ecru scrolls, topped in their case by red and orange flowers, figure on the main border, which has a brown ground. A wide band of ecru is enhanced by a rectangle with red, green and yellow geometric patterns. Here the floral designs consist of palmettes and rosettes. The depiction of medallions embellished with figures is derived from Persian silks; the decorative motifs within such medallions are characteristic of Sasanian decorative arts.","type":"Fragment of a [wall?] hanging","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"First half of 8th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"45cm x 23cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; Prudence Oliver Harper, *The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire*, exhib. cat., New York: Asia Society, 1978, cat. no. 62.","provenance":"Egypt, Sasanian period (AD 3rd–7th century)","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Mrs Paul Mallon, New York, in 1953, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Unpublished","dynasty":"Umayyad (AD 661–750)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["polychrome textile; medallion; Umayyad textile; Persian tapestry; textile"],"materials":["Wool"]},"c0f8bfaf-f9ca-5ac0-84ba-67ebfcaf39e4":{"name":"Tablecloth (*dastarkhan*)","description":"A *dastarkhan* is a thin white *palas* (a kind of traditional, flat-woven carpet popular in Azerbaijan) that functioned as a tablecloth for Azerbaijanis and other Turkic peoples. The central field of Azerbaijani *dastarkhans* was rectangular, usually plain, and the borders spotted vivid decoration in contrast with the *dastarkhans* produced in Central Asia that boast elaborate designs. A *dastarkhan* denoted a sacred meaning, as its ornaments protected the food and the breadwinner and brought abundance to the family.  \nIn the central field of this artifact, there are inscriptions in the old epigraphic alphabet, stylized images of birds (symbolizing protection), butas (symbolizing different abilities bestowed on a person) and branches (symbolizing blessings). Images of arrows on the *dastarkhan's* border symbolize honour, prosperity and blessings.","type":"Tableware","holder":"Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum","dates":"Hegira 1305 / AD 1887","location":"Baku","dimensions":"Length: 188cm, width: 90cm","place_of_production":"Karabakh, Azerbaijan","method_for_datation":"By stylistic and comparative analyses with related material","obtention":"Purchased in 1984","author":"Rustam Afandiyev","keywords":["tablecloth; dastarkhan; flat-woven; wool; Azerbaijan"],"materials":["Wool pattern yarn for the warp, cotton yarn for the weft; interweaved, wrapped."]},"c0fa2286-c49d-5054-a7e8-e9736fe3a90e":{"name":"Flag of a workers’ league bearing the sign","short_description":"This flag presumably belonged to a league of navvies, or labourers. It shows the tools used by workers employed in road construction, i.e. pickaxe and shovel.  \nStarting from the last decades of the XIX century, trade unionism flourished in Italy. In the 1890s, in many towns different unions started to reunite in general unions at a town level, known as Camere del Lavoro (labour unions, modelled on the French Bourse du Travail). In 1906 the Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (CGdL), a national confederation of trade unions, was founded.","type":"Flag","holder":"Central State Archives of Italy","dates":"Unknown (probably immediately after World War I)","location":"Rome","dimensions":"132 x 147","author":"Giulia Barrera","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell"},"c166cd2d-8939-540b-a898-6cea4e8dc0ae":{"name":"Brocaded velvet","short_description":"Figurative design flowered in Safavid textiles in the AH 10th century / AD mid-16th century. These figures often share the same features as book paintings from the period. This velvet is unique due to the large size of its figures, unknown on other velvets of the AH 10th century / AD 16th century, and the richness of surface textures. Uncut loops of metal-wrapped silk thread have been added in some areas to the traditional silk pile, contrasting with the glittering metal thread background.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Islamic Art","dates":"Hegira 977-987 / AD 1570s","location":"Doha","dimensions":"Height: 164 cm, width: 70 cm","provenance":"Iran, Qazvin","obtention":"Sotheby's London,  Fine Oriental and European Rugs and Carpets, 14 Oct 1998, lot 37 to Qatar Museums","bibliography":"Al Khemir, Sabiha, *From Cordoba To Samarqand, Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha*, Milan: Musée du Louvre Editions, 2006.  \n  \nThompson, Jon, *Silk. 13th to 18th centuries. Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar*, Doha: National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, 2004.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Tara Desjardins","keywords":["Brocaded; Velvet; Safawid; Textile; Iran"],"materials":["Silk, Metal Thread; Weaving"]},"c23d10a7-1e62-576e-94be-aa1878e96194":{"name":"Cushion cover '*çatma yastık*'","short_description":"This is \"*çatma yastık yüzü*\" - a luxurious cushion cover of voided and brocaded velvet used to embellish salons of rich houses in the Ottoman Empire of the AD 16th–mid 18th centuries.  \nFor nearly 150 years the shape (rectangular, about 110cm x 60 cm) and the basic design of *çatma yastik* covers remained unchanged. The ornamented central field is flanked with two borders, each consisting of six arched cartouches filled with smaller floral motifs.  \nThe museum piece featuring large “*çintamani*” circles as a central motif was most likely produced in the period of the late 16th–first half of the 17th centuries. The high quality of silk, the deep crimson tone and the lavish application of silver wrapped thread (now partly lost) - all indicate that the cushion cover was made in Bursa, the key centre of the Ottoman silk weaving industry.","type":"Applied arts; Fabrics; Textile","holder":"The Khanenko Museum","dates":"AD late 16th–first half of 17th century","location":"Kyiv","dimensions":"Length: 104cm, Width: 63cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis by H. Rudyk (publication, 2016, date, origin).","method_for_provenance":"According to the entry in the old Museum Inventory Register (1925-1946).","provenance":"Bursa, Turkey","obtention":"Purchased by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. Donated by Varvara Khanenko in 1918, nationalized by Bolshevik regime in 1919.","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, *İpek: Osmanlı Dokuma Sanatı*, Istanbul: TEB İletişim ve Yayıncılık, 2001.  \nPhillips, A., \"The historiography of Ottoman velvets, 2011-1572: scholars, craftsmen, consumers\", *Journal of Art Historiography*, 6 (2012).  \nRudyk, Hanna, \"Ottoman Collection in The Khanenko Museum\", *Chronicles-2000*, 1: 95 (2013): 479-495.  \nRudyk, Hanna, \"Cushion Cover\", *Art and Science*, (2016): 32–33.  \nRudyk, H., \"Islamic art in the Khanenko Museum collection\" in *Islamic art in the museums of Ukraine*, Proceedings of the Vyazmitina Research Seminar, 2017: 39-45.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Antonina Makarevych, Hanna Rudyk","copy_editor":"Janice Medina","keywords":["Silk; velvet; brocade; metal thread; textile; Ottoman; Turkey; Bursa"],"materials":["Silk, silver-wrapped thread, cotton; voided and brocaded velvet"]},"c27af56e-a4e0-51fb-a73b-60b44f2b7999":{"name":"Tomb cover.","description":"A section of red silk divided into ivory-coloured zigzag bands. These bands form a three-part repeat unit in which the main section is a wide band containing the Muslim profession of faith, the Shahada. Above this, a border band contains a verse from the Qur'an (2: 144) which concerns the *qibla*, or direction of prayer. Below, a pious invocation reads 'Praise God and glorify Him; praise God the mighty.' These repeat units are separated by bands in which finial-shaped pendants, facing alternately up and down, are arranged among circular medallions; these shapes contain rhyming invocations: 'O Benefactor (ya mannan)!' and 'O Compassionate (ya hannan)!' in the pendants, and 'O Praise (ya subhan)!' and 'O Authority (ya sultan)!' in the circles. Textiles like this one were made under the Ottomans to cover the cenotaphs of important individuals. Since the deceased is buried facing Mecca, the inclusion of the Qur'anic verse about the *qibla* has special significance. This particular type of tomb cover appears to have been woven in large quantities, as silks with an identical pattern can be found in collections all over the world.","short_description":"A section of red silk woven with zigzag bands containing several repeating inscriptions, among them Qur’anic verses and rhyming invocations of God. Many similar textiles were made under the Ottomans as tomb covers and as linings for the Ka’ba in Mecca.","type":"Ottoman textile, woven silk","holder":"Victoria and Albert Museum.","dates":"Hegira 12th / AD 18th century.","location":"London, England","dimensions":"Length 70 cm, width 68 cm.","method_for_datation":"In comparison with similar silks of the period.","method_for_provenance":"Assumption based on Istanbul's status as the capital.","provenance":"Possibly Istanbul.","obtention":"Gift of Dudley B. Myers, Esq., 1900.","bibliography":"Arts Council of Great Britain, *The Arts of Islam*, London, 1976, p.86, cat. no. 33.  \n  \nDenny, W., \"Textiles,\" *Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire* (ed. Y. Petsopoulos), London, 1982, p.138 and plate 160 (showing an identically patterned silk in a different collection).","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Barry Wood","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["religious object; funerary object"],"materials":["Woven silk."]},"c5abc7e0-07c7-53e5-b0b7-c0930bdd46e4":{"name":"Textiles","short_description":"These textiles are example of the early Mudéjar production after the defeat of the Nasrid kingdom. The influence of these textiles was great not only in the 16th century but also in the 19th century in the Alhambresque, Moorish and Neo-Mudéjar styles.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Lázaro Galdiano Museum","dates":"Early 16th century; 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"1729: 40 x 53 cm; 5727: 121 x 774,5 cm","provenance":"Granada?","author":"Ámparo López","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Nasrid art; islamic influence; orientalism; collectionism"],"materials":["Silk; lampas weave"]},"c791fd67-b769-5838-8662-48cd1f3c7839":{"name":"*Mafrash* (Bedding Bag) End Panel","description":"Certain textiles from Anatolia, covers and containers made by nomads, semi-nomads and villagers for their own use known as the Caucasus and Iran, first came to the attention of consumers in Europe, in the final third of the 19th century. Although the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts purchased its first nomad and village flat-woven textiles at the turn of the 19th/20th century, this carpet was a donation by Prof. Ottó Fettick (1946, followed by his bequest in 1954) that laid the real foundations of the Museum's woven carpet collection. The 104 items included textiles of a kind that were new to the Museum: 19th-century woven Caucasian and North Iranian soumak, palas, verneh and jajim rugs, containers and covers, and Anatolian, Iranian and Balkan kilims. Professor Fettick (1875–1954) was a veterinary surgeon, bacteriologist and art collector and probably started building his collection of 19th-century flat-woven nomad carpets and other textiles in the early 20th century. The end panel of a Shahsevan *mafrash* (bedding bag) presumably from the Moghan-Savalan region is from the Fettick collection. Its ornament is comprised of three broad horizontal bands. The dark brown central band has offset rows of hooked hexagons; one row in alternating colours between two rows of white half hexagons. The upper and lower secondary broad bands contain right-facing peacocks standing in line on a yellow ground, each with a stylized \"cock\" motif on its back.  \n  \nOriginally the side panel selvedges were sewn together with a blue and brown rope-like overcasting which remained on three edges of the end panel when the *mafrash* was taken apart. The cut edge of the long side panel is visible on the lower third of the left side under the frayed overcasting.  \n  \nThere is a *mafrash* end panel of almost identical pattern in the Charles Grant Ellis Collection.","type":"Mafrash (bedding bag) end panel","holder":"Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Third quarter of 19th century","location":"Budapest","dimensions":"Height: 43cm, Width: 52cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"South east Caucasus, Moghan–Savalan region (present day Iran Azerbaijan border)","obtention":"Bequest of Dr. Ottó Fettick, 1954","bibliography":"Gombos, Károly, Kaukasische Webteppiche/Caucasian Flat-woven Rugs, *Ars Decorativa*, 6 (1979): 171, figure 9.  \nGombos, Károly, *Régi szövött keleti szőnyegek és hímzések / Altorientalische Webteppiche und Stickerei/Early Oriental Woven Rugs and Embroideries*, Sárvár: Sárvár Nádasdy Ferenc Múzeum/Catalogues of Museums in Vas County, 1980 (Vas megyei Múzeumok katalógusai 66. / Kataloge der Museen des Komitats Vas 66.): 17, no. 29 and figure 9a.  \nLandreau, A. N., and Pickering, W. R., *From the Bosporus to Samarkand: Flat-Woven Rugs*, Washington D. C.: The Textile Museum, 1969: 68, fig. 66.","author":"Emese Pásztor","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","translator":"Alan Campbell","keywords":["Cotton; Mafrash; Soumak; Shahsevan; Weft wrapping; Wool"],"materials":["Warp: Wool; Weft: Wool and undyed cotton; Extra-weft wrapping: plain soumak"]},"c88cfa39-a575-5369-b26b-986d4b8b0529":{"name":"Two embroidered tent panels","short_description":"The panels were apparently used to cover the entrance of a Persian tent made in the Caspian city of Rasht, famous for its embroideries. The lush composition, laid out symmetrically along the central axis of the entrance, recalls the designs of the so-called ‘meditation rugs’. It includes, at the centre of a large polylobed arch, the crown of a cypress tree, and, at the foot of the tree, on both sides, a lion holding a sword – symbol of ‘Ali, and a peacock – symbol of paradise. The panels feature an allover design of floral motifs and birds embroidered in chain stitch. An outer border embroidered with *boteh* (paisley) motifs on a red ground encloses the panels on three sides.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 380cm, Width: 290cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis, technique","provenance":"Rasht, Iran","obtention":"Part of the collection donated by  Gheorghe Răut to the Romanian State in the late 1960s.","bibliography":"Baker, P.L., *Islamic Textiles*, London: British Museum Press, 1995.  \nUngureanu, C. (ed), *Anatomia restaurării. Opere de artă din patrimoniul MNAR*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2016: 204-205, cat. no. 70.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Embroidery"],"materials":["Wool, silk, cotton, metal hooks and eyes; patchwork, embroidery"]},"c9d0b510-47ac-5728-867e-795e3dd48169":{"name":"Cushion cover","short_description":"This fragment shows an elegant composition with stylised tulips.","type":"Velvet; fabric; textile","holder":"MAO Museum of Oriental Art","dates":"Hegira 11th century / 17th century","location":"Turin","dimensions":"Width 61 cm, length 121 cm","provenance":"Turkey","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Velvet; fabric; textile; Ottoman textiles; floral motifs; tulip"],"materials":["Woven silk, silver, gold"]},"c9e57bf4-504f-5953-928e-e4f5dacd9861":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen and silk.","description":"A woven linen and silk slit-tapestry fragment in cream, golden yellow, crimson and blue. The design consists of three superposed bands, the uppermost and the lowest identical in appearance. The design is tripartite, with two bands of *naskhi* script rendered in red on a gold background, and flanking a gold-coloured central guilloche band outlined in red with gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs in the centre of every loop. Narrow stripes with wavy patterning complete the pattern. The inscriptions in the epigraphic panels read: *‘… wa al-iqbal’* (‘… and prosperity’). In between these two bands is a broader panel with a complex, gathered linear interlaced design in gold and red which employs individual gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs set against a red ground.","short_description":"Fatimid Egypt was famous for the production of sophisticated silk textiles produced in court-sponsored workshops known as ‘*tiraz*’ workshops. Most were fashioned into royal garments for the sultan and his court or robes of honour to be bestowed on worthy courtiers, dignitaries or foreign diplomats.","type":"Fatimid textile woven linen and silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira 570–96 / AD third quarter of the 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 24 cm, width 9 cm.","method_for_datation":"The decorative style of this textile fragment places it within the category of very late Fatimid textiles, characterized by the exclusive use of golden yellow and red, together with the complexity of the interlace designs which covers the central band completely. The inscription in *naskhi* script also helps to place the production of this piece within the reign of the last Fatimid rulers. Furthermore this item has been dated on the basis of its striking similarity to a linen and silk fragment in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva, which is dated 570–96 / third quarter of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.","provenance":"Egypt.","obtention":"Purchased by the NMS in 1979 from Spink and Son Ltd, London.","bibliography":"*Tissus d’Egypte: Témoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe – Xve siècles,* Geneva / Paris 1993, p.259, cat. no. 158 (for discussion of similar piece).  \nKendrick, A. F., *Catalogue of Muhammadan Textiles of the Medieval Period,* London 1924, p.18, cat. no. 887, plate iv (for a very similar piece).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Silk; linen; naskhi script; textile; workshop; Fatimid textiles"],"materials":["Woven linen and silk."]},"cb646540-71b4-53fd-9b5d-065a402f6c3b":{"name":"'Hortus Conclusus' church tapestry","description":"In our time, people who want to improve their logic skills might do a Sudoku while commuting on the urban railway. In medieval times, people would spend their time decoding the immense iconographic programme of the Catholic Church, which included not only Biblical figures and saints, but also legendary creatures with no religious connotations. The creator of the “Enclosed Garden” that can be seen on a precious tapestry from the chapel of Ried in what is today the canton of Schwyz drew on the early Christian natural history treatise known as the Physiologus, which states that a unicorn can only be captured by a virgin. From a Christian viewpoint, the virgin is Mary and her touching the unicorn’s horn is an allusion to the immaculate conception. Interpreting this scene correctly was tricky, but within the capabilities of medieval churchgoers. In contrast, they were less adept at understanding written letters and numbers.","type":"Tapestry","holder":"Swiss National Museum","owner":"Swiss Confederation","dates":"AD 1480","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"H: 104cm, W: 380cm","method_for_datation":"Year of production woven into the tapestry","provenance":"Basel, Switzerland","obtention":"Bought in 1896","keywords":["Hortus conclusus; Tapestry: Riddle; Chapel im Ried; Schwyz"],"materials":["Tapestry, weft: wool, silk, gold and silver lamella, warp: linen"]},"cba9697e-4726-5cc0-9a64-80be790a931d":{"name":"Fragment of an interior Kiswa Cover for the Ka'ba in Makkah","short_description":"For four hundred years, the Ottomans sent money and gifts to Makkah and Medina with the Surre procession. The gifts included covers for the Ka’ba, made in Cairo and Istanbul, which were replaced every year. Old covers were returned to the palace in Istanbul, distributed to the faithful or sometimes reused.Textiles like this one were made in Istanbul and Bursa from the 10th century H/ 16th century to the early 14th century H/ 20th century. Woven in red and beige silk, they were intended for draping either the inner walls of the Ka’bah in Makkah or those of the Tomb of the Prophet in Madina. Their zig-zag design echoes that of the main kiswa but the religious inscriptions vary according to the textiles’ intended use. Here, the combination of texts with their emphasis on the Prophet suggests that this fragment was part of a hanging intended for the Prophet’s tomb chamber, which also houses the cenotaphs of his first two successors, the caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al Khattab.","type":"Textile","holder":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation / Sharjah Museums Authority","dates":"Hegira late 12th – early 13th century / AD late 18th – early 19th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"Length 655 mm, width 380 mm","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["Ka'bah; kiswa"],"materials":["Lampas woven, red and beige silk"],"artist":"Unknown"},"ce91431e-97e8-5a65-8d88-f4d8be6111e9":{"name":"Inscribed textile or *tiraz*","short_description":"The large linen fragment has two lines of inscriptions running in opposite directions and woven in dark blue silk thread. The content of the text, in the *kufic* script, follows the typical form for *tiraz* textiles conveying good wishes to the caliph Nizar Abu al-Mansur al-imam al-Aziz and states that it was woven in the royal *tiraz* workshop of Tinnis in the year 3(7)5.","type":"Textile, tiraz, silk, linen","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 375 / AD 985-86","location":"Athens","dimensions":"164 X 40","provenance":"Egypt, Tinnis","dynasty":"Fatimid","keywords":["Tiraz; Kufic; Fragment; Silk; Linen; textile; Fatimid textiles; workshop; royal manufacture"],"materials":["Linen and silk"]},"d0d2ab0e-7d90-5e08-89b9-cfab8bae0d85":{"name":"Section from the *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"The pattern consists of zigzag bands alternately enclosing the *shahada* (‘There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God’) and the invocation ‘O! God, May his Majesty be exalted’, the latter in mirrored script. It is possible that the calligraphy was designed by the master calligrapher, ‘Abdallah Zuhdi, who was known as *katib al-haramayn* (‘the calligrapher of the two holy sanctuaries’).  \nEgypt had been supplying the *kiswa* of the Ka‘ba on a yearly basis, and almost without interruption, since Fatimid times. Since the early 1970s, however, the *kiswa* has been woven in a special workshop in Mecca.","type":"Textile; woven textile; *kiswa*; lampas; silk","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Late 19th or early 20th century","location":"London","dimensions":"158 x 89cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on stylistic grounds.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo","bibliography":"Porter, V. (ed.), *Hajj. Journey to the Heart of Islam*, London: British Museum, 2013: 258.  \nTezcan, H., “Ka‘ba covers from the Topkapı Palace collection and their inscriptions”, in Suleman, F. (ed.), *Word of God, Art of Man. The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions*, Oxford, 2010: 227–38.  \nVernoit, S., *Occidentalism. Islamic Art in the 19th Century*, London: The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, vol. 23, 1997: cat.8, pp.26–7.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Minbar; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Silk lampas, with satin ground and tabby pattern"]},"d0d6c9d5-6ebd-5af5-9fa7-3367e09d88aa":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Ahmed I","short_description":"In her study of the Ka‘ba door curtains in the Topkapı Sarayı, Hülya Tezcan has identified four main styles. The earliest is that of a curtain bearing the name of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and the date AH 950 / AD 1543–4. The second style, to which this curtain belongs, apepars to have been popular for a long period, as known examples date from the late 16th to the late 18th century.  \n  \nCharacteristic features of this style include the five arches at the top, as well as the zigzag panels and the reciprocal ogival cartouches at the bottom. The commisioning order and date are in the two panels immediately above the latter. This curtain was commisioned and presented to the Ka‘ba by Sultan Ahmed I.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba door curtain; *sitara*; *burqu‘*; *burda*; *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1015 / AD 1606","location":"London","dimensions":"499 x 271cm","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Black silk, with red, beige and green silk appliqués, relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"d1baf7da-b838-5564-a184-03f1f16c1457":{"name":"Fragment of woven linen.","description":"A fragment with two superposed decorative bands separated from each other by an area of plain weave. Both bands are identical in design: guilloches rendered in a yellowish gold colour, set against a blue background. The central areas of the guilloche’s loops have light-coloured palmette-leaves in them, which are set against either a red or black background. The guilloche band of is flanked above and below by two red stripes, each containing a light-coloured *kufic* inscription enhanced by regularly disposed, gold-coloured scrolling motifs; the outer borders of these are formed by a system of interlocking wave-like designs. The inscription has been deciphered as: ‘victory comes from God’. Akhmim in Egypt lies on the east bank of the River Nile. The linen-weaving industry was an important one there, and textiles and handicrafts are still produced in Akhmim today.","short_description":"Many Fatimid and Mamluk textiles have been found in burials around Akhmim, an important Egyptian textile centre with a famous linen-weaving industry. Interestingly, the history of Akhmim is closely linked with that of the Coptic community in Egypt and retains a sizeable Coptic population to this day.","type":"Fatimid textile, woven linen and silk","holder":"National Museums of Scotland (NMS).","dates":"Hegira, late 5th–early 6th century / AD 12th century.","location":"Edinburgh, Scotland","dimensions":"Height: 16 cm, width: 19 cm.","method_for_datation":"A fragment in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva bears a close stylistic resemblance with this piece and it has been dated to the late 5th–early 6th / first half of the 12th century.","method_for_provenance":"The item was found in Akhmim, Egypt and belongs to a group of well-defined Fatimid textiles.","provenance":"Akhmim, Egypt.","obtention":"Bought from the Hilton-Price Collection, 1911.","bibliography":"*Tissus d'Egypte: Temoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe - XVe siecles*, Collection Bouvier, Geneva, Geneva / Paris, 1993, pp.244–5, cat. no. 146 (for a similar fragment).","dynasty":"Fatimid","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Akhmim; silk; linen; kufic script; Coptic; workshop; textile; Fatmid textiles"],"materials":["Woven linen and silk."]},"d1d438f0-83d2-5fda-b51d-574d3965aaa9":{"name":"Silk textile with geometric pattern.","description":"A silk textile with a lampas weave, satin ground and weft-faced tabby pattern. Yellow strap-work bands on a red background create a dazzling geometric interlace design in which eight-pointed stars figure prominently. Other colours, such as pink, green, and a silvery blue, are used to create contrasts and highlights. Textiles like this one were made in the Nasrid period in southern Spain and North Africa. They continued to be valued throughout Europe long after the fall of the Nasrid dynasty; this particular example was hanging behind a statue of the Virgin Mary in Florence, Italy as late as the 19th century.","short_description":"A silk textile woven with an elaborate geometric pattern based on eight-pointed stars. Textiles like this were woven in southern Spain and North Africa during the Nasrid period. This example may have served as a hanging to enliven an architectural setting.","type":"Woven silk textile","holder":"Victoria and Albert Museum.","dates":"Hegira 8th–9th / AD 14th–15th century.","location":"London, England","dimensions":"Length 56 cm, width 47.5 cm.","method_for_datation":"Comparison with other Spanish and North African textiles.","method_for_provenance":"The Nasrids ruled in Spain.","provenance":"Spain.","obtention":"Received from Dr Bock in 1864.","bibliography":"Arts Council of Great Britain, The Arts of Islam, London, 1976, p.81, cat. no. 18.","dynasty":"Nasrid","author":"Barry Wood","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["geometric decoration"],"materials":["Woven silk textile."]},"d3cbf39d-5c09-5ef2-9a4f-78a92ddbb910":{"name":"Ikat hanging","short_description":"The decoration of this wall hanging has been achieved through the ikat technique, and depicts one of the most popular décors of the Qajar period: cypresses in a niche. Further to this, in this particular example another popular motif, the peacock, has been added to the tips of the small cypresses. Comparable wall hangings made of silk ikat have survived mainly from Yazd, hence its likely provenance.  \n  \nIkat weavings appeared sporadically in Iran as early as the 17th and 18th centuries, but remained the great exception. In the 19th century, especially in the second half, ikat weaving flourished, experiencing a period of artistic development. During this period, the ever increasing imports of cheap European machine-made goods posed enormous problems for local textile manufacturers. However, the ikat weavers were able to successfully hold their own against the competition.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum Rietberg","initial_owner":"Hermann and Annette Landolt-Tüller","dates":"Hegira 1290-1320 / AD 1875-1900","location":"Zurich","dimensions":"Height: 197cm, Width: 122.5cm","method_for_datation":"By comparison with stylistically similar objects","provenance":"Iran, Yazd","obtention":"Acquisition with funds from the Rietberg Kreis","bibliography":"Nabholz-Kartaschoff, Marie-Louise and Langer, Axel, *Pfauen, Blüten & Zypressen. Persische Textilien der Qajaren-Zeit (1788-1925)*, Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 2005: esp. 104-109.","dynasty":"Qajar","author":"Axel Langer","copy_editor":"Jonathan Turnbull","materials":["Warp ikat, silk, lining: European printed cotton"]},"d3d8bfb4-1256-5d86-8c10-b8ebf4e3177c":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The ground material of this square cloth is made of white silk. A broad border encloses the middle area, which is embroidered with small single flowers. The border shows a corner design of large flowers emerging from a vase and tendrils along the sides. The blossoms and leaves are executed in gradated shades of different-coloured silk.","short_description":"Embroidery on a ground of white silk. In the middle the square cloth is embroidered with single flowers. The border shows large flowers emerging from a vase.","type":"Silk, gold, embroidery","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities (Historiska Museet).","owner":"Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","initial_owner":"Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","dates":"Around Hegira 1132–42 / AD  1720–30.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 88 cm, width 88 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Svärta Church, Södermanland, Sweden.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, 182–4.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, 83–5, cat. no. 153, plate 78.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textiles; embroidery; floral decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gold thread; embroidery."]},"d3ddaba2-605a-593a-84dc-d55cd6a60174":{"name":"Pearl Diver’s Finger Protectors","short_description":"These finger guards are known as khabt (pl. khabta). They were an essential part of a pearl-diver's equipment, as they protected his finger tips from the sharp oyster shells and other unexpected dangerous objects the pearl-diver might brush his fingers against while searching the murky seabed. Much of his work had to rely on touch, as visibility was minimal and few dangers could be anticipated by sight alone. When not used, the finger guards were kept in a container filled with water to keep them supple.","type":"15 leather finger protectors with cotton bag","holder":"Sharjah Maritime Museum / Sharjah Museums Department","dates":"Hegira late 13th – early 14th century / AD late 19th – early 20th century","location":"Sharjah","dimensions":"The finger protectors length around 40 mm, width c. 20 mm; the bag c. 250 x 200 mm","provenance":"Sharjah Emirate","author":"Ulrike Al-Khamis","keywords":["khabt; khabta"],"materials":["Leather and cotton"],"artist":"Unknown"},"d5063c4c-2fb6-5145-80ab-45cf9cbda6d3":{"name":"Section from the *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb","short_description":"This section from a *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb belongs to a small group of fragments in which the finely calligraphed *thuluth* inscriptions are woven in silver-wrapped silk thread on a deep raspberry-pink ground. Selin Ipek has suggested that, given the amount of silver used in its weaving, the *kiswa* from which they come must have been a special commission.  \n  \nThe vertical repeat consists of four wide zigzag bands alternating with four narrower ones; there are two horizontal repeats per loom width. The first wide band at the top of the textile has a supplication to God for blessings and peace upon Prophet. In the narrow band below that is *sura al-Ikhlas* (CXII), followed by the *shahada* in the wide band. Next is *sura al-Ahzab* (XXXIII), verse 56. The third wide band has *Allahu wala siwahu* (‘God and there is none equal to Him’), with a small flower under each of the words, Allah. Inscribed in the last narrow band in the repeat is *sura al-Qasas* (XXVIII), end of verse 88.","type":"Textile; *kiswa* of the Prophet’s tomb; silk; lampas; silver thread","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"AD 18th century","location":"London","dimensions":"188 x 62cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date based on a study by Selin Ipek.","provenance":"Turkey, Istanbul","obtention":"Acquired Sotheby’s, London, sale of 22 April 2015, lot 47.","bibliography":"Ipek, S., “Ottoman Ravza-i Mutahhara Covers Sent from Istanbul to Medina with the Surre Processions”, *Muqarnas*, vol. 23 (2006): 289–316, especially p.305 and figure 23.","dynasty":"Ottoman","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Minbar; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Silk lampas with silver thread"]},"d588c3c2-379b-534f-8feb-9c9bc83a8d5c":{"name":"Two sections from a tomb cover","short_description":"The calligraphic design on each of these two sections consists of an eight-fold repeat of Qur’an, *sura* *al-Fath*, XLVIII, verse 1: *inna fatahna laka fathan mubinan*. The letters have been manipulated to create the semblance of a cartouche in which the words *inna fatahna* and *laka fathan* – which are similar in form – have been arranged at either end to suggest a mirror image around the word *mubinan* in the centre.  \nA similar textile in the Musée Historique des Tissus, Lyon, France, bears the date AH 1123 (AD 1711–12).","type":"Textile; silk; weft-faced; tomb cover","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","dates":"Early 18th century","location":"London","dimensions":"40 x 35cm; 39 x 35cm","method_for_datation":"Date is based on comparison with a dated piece; provenance based on technical grounds.","provenance":"Iran","bibliography":"Piotrovsky, M.B., and Vrieze, J. (eds), *Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art. Art of Islam*, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam & London 1999: no.181, p.210.","dynasty":"Safavid","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Iran; Safavid; textile; silk; calligraphy; Qur’an"],"materials":["Silk, of weft-faced compound plain (tabby) weave"]},"d5ef573d-2a05-5d47-a3e9-ad45caf58169":{"name":"Flag of the St Petersburg Colony of Macedonians","short_description":"This flag was the symbol of the St. Petersburg Colony of Macedonians, a group of Macedonian intellectuals who lived and worked in St. Petersburg and shared the same ideas and interests – working for the liberation and recognition of Macedonia. The red colour of the flag symbolizes the blood shed in the centuries-long Macedonian struggle for autonomy. The white rectangle in the upper left corner bears a depiction of a unicorn, also in red colour.","type":"Insignia","holder":"Museum of Macedonia","dates":"1913","location":"Skopje","author":"Nada Andonovska (author), Dragan Georgiev, historian (consultant)","copy_editor":"Daniel de la Vega","keywords":["Autonomy; liberation; recognition"],"materials":["Textile fabric"]},"d7096975-0651-52ea-8630-a12bafecd7a2":{"name":"Fragment of a shawl","short_description":"This black-blue fragment of shawl is decorated with tapestry bands woven with *kufic* inscriptions and highly stylized human figures, quadrupeds and birds. The overall stylization is reminiscent of Coptic textiles but is typical of the Fayyum area in Upper Egypt, which is attested by Muslim writers as specializing in the weaving of woollen fabrics.","type":"Textile, shawl, wool","holder":"Benaki Museum","dates":"Hegira 3rd-4th century / AD 9th-10th century","location":"Athens","dimensions":"Height 74 cm  \nWidth 91.5 cm","provenance":"Egypt","dynasty":"Fatimid","keywords":["Shawl; Fragment; Kufic; Wool; textile; costume; Fatimid textiles; Coptic; animal decoration; bird; human representation"],"materials":["Wool and linen"]},"e02118f9-dc4c-59ac-97f3-1e1641712dd1":{"name":"Fragmentary loom width with wavy-vine pattern","short_description":"Spectacular silks with large scale patterns were favoured materials for luxury garments among the courtly elite of sixteenth-century Istanbul and were often used for the bold, richly coloured kaftans of the Ottoman sultans. In this example, the vertical pattern of foliage is stylistically similar to that of the ceramic wall tiles in buildings of the period. The weave, referred to in Turkish as *kemha*, incorporates metal-wrapped thread into a lampas, or multiweave fabric. Ottoman *kemha* fabrics typically combine a satin ground with a woven twill design highlighted with gold. Their glittering patterns catch the light and appear to float above a shimmering background.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira c. 672–87 / AD c. 1565–80","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: L: 121.9cm, W: 67.3cm; Mount: L: 135.3cm, W: 81.3cm, D: 2.5cm","provenance":"Probably Istanbul, Turkey","obtention":"Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952  \nVendor: Estate of Dikran G. Kelekian, New York  \nFormer owner: Dikran G. Kelekian, New York (by 1926–d. 1951; his estate, New York, 1951–52)","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, Denny, Walter B., Mackie, Louise W., Tezcan, Hulya, Raby, Julian (ed) and Effeny, Alison (ed), *IPEK: imperial Ottoman silks and velvets*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2001: 89, 206, 220, 282–83, ill. pl. 42 (colour), figs. Aii (b/w), 127 (colour), 242 (b/w).  \nAtil, Esin, *The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent*, Washington DC: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987: no. 147, 212-213, ill. pl. 147 (colour).  \nAtil, Esin (ed), *Turkish Art*, Washington D.C/New York: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980: 354-355, ill. fig. 206 (b/w).  \nCampbell, Thomas P. (ed), *The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012: 138, ill. (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 287, 320-321, no. 228, ill. 320-1 (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 33/1 (Spring 1975): 36, ill. (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard (ed), *The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York*, Berlin: Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, 1981: 266-267, no. 113, ill. 267 (colour).  \nde Montebello, Philippe and Howard, Kathleen (ed), *The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 327, ill. fig. 36 (colour).  \nPope, Arthur Upham, \"Special Persian Exhibition\", *Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum*, XXII/107 (November 1926): 245-251.  \nWelch, Stuart Cary, *The Islamic World. Vol. 11*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987: 118, no. 88, ill. fig. 88 (colour).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952","keywords":["Ottoman; Istanbul; Turkey; lampas; silk; textile; Anatolia; caftan; kemha; floral decoration; floral motifs; floriated; foliated; garment; cloth; clothing; Ottoman silk; Ottoman textile; saz leaf; saz style; vegetal decoration; vegetal motifs"],"materials":["Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas (*kemha*)"]},"e2301ec1-c5b6-5d83-a402-0bf32d43fab0":{"name":"Section from the belt of the Ka‘ba","short_description":"The *hizam* (‘belt’) is an inscribed band that encircles the upper part of the Ka‘ba. During the Ottoman period, it was made up of eight sections – two on each wall – and this section would have been on the south side. It is embroidered with *sura al-‘Imran* (III), verses 95–97. The text refers to ‘the religion of Abraham’; ‘the first house of worship that was in Mecca’; and ‘the Station of Abraham’.  \nThe *kiswa* and its various components had been supplied yearly, and with very few exceptions, since Fatimid times. An incident at Mina during the Hajj of 1926 led to a break in the relation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. As the season of Hajj approached the following year, and with no *kiswa* arriving from Egypt, King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Saud ordered one to be made in haste at Dar al-Kiswa in Mecca. Due to the shortness of time, the *hizam*, of which this is a section, had to be machine-embroidered.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba belt; *hizam*; *kiswa*; gold thread embroidery; silver thread embroidery; machine embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Hejira 1345 / AD 1927","location":"London","dimensions":"590 x 90cm","method_for_datation":"Provenance and date are based on historical records.","provenance":"Saudi Arabia, Mecca","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005): 336–9.","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Minbar; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Black silk with pale green silk appliqués; machine-embroidered in gold and silver thread and strips of flattened gold and silver wire, over cotton thread padding"]},"e4957137-fe26-5b45-a98b-c7918535c481":{"name":"Textile fragment","description":"Textiles constitute a major part of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ collection of Islamic art. The decorative arts had great symbolic and social importance in the Islamic world. The skills of the weavers of the time have rarely been equalled, and this fragment is among the pieces that demonstrate the complexity and innovation of their techniques. Figurative designs, which were extremely popular in 16th-century Persia, appeared on garments and palace furnishings, as well as in religious and funeral ceremonies. In this fragment of reversible double cloth depicting “Boats at Sea”, two fabrics have been produced simultaneously, one over the other, following a repeat pattern of remarkable detail: sailing boats with four sailors alternating with simple rowing boats carrying three figures, all on a sea filled with fish and ducks. The vertical masts create the impression of stability, while the diagonal placement of the rowing boats suggests a rocking motion. The red motifs lay on a silver-thread ground.","type":"Textile fragment","holder":"Montreal Museum of Fine Arts","dates":"Late 16th–early 17th century","location":"Montreal, Quebec","dimensions":"15.8cm x 14.5cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic and comparative analyses; *Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art*, London: Royal Academy, 1931, cat. no. 301a.","provenance":"Iran, Yazd","obtention":"Purchase, D. W. Parker Fund  \nPurchased from Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, in 1949, D. W. Parker Fund","bibliography":"Salam-Liebich, Hayat, *Art islamique: objets du quotidien / Islamic Art: Objects for Daily Use*, Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1983: 61.  \nSalam-Liebich, Hayat, “Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection”, *Iranian Studies*, 25.1–2 (1992): 19–29, 26, fig. 5.  \n*The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Guide*, 1960: 23.  \n*The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Guide*, 2007: 42.","dynasty":"Safavid (1501–1722/36)","author":"Shirin Shafiee","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Safawid textile; silk fabric; double cloth; Persian textile"],"materials":["Silk, silver thread, double cloth"]},"e5229f07-7f0c-5c3d-b332-abfb11f167a3":{"name":"Fragmentary silk velvet with repeating tiger-stripe and *çintamani* design","short_description":"This early example of *çintamani* silk velvet incorporates the triangular formation of three circles alternating with two wavy bands. This pattern, whose name is derived from a Sanskit term meaning “auspicious jewel”, appears on Ottoman textiles, carpets, and ceramics  \nThe pile in luxurious textiles like this one is created by the warp threads, which are looped during the weaving process and then sheared to create a plush surface. Polychromatic designs were formed by alternating two or more warps in contrasting colours, and brocaded with metal-wrapped weft threads creating the \"voided\" ground in the design.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira second half of the 9th–early 10th century / AD second half of the 15th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 74.9cm, W: 71.1cm; Mount: H: 80cm, W: 78cm","provenance":"Bursa, Turkey","obtention":"Rogers Fund, 1908  \nVendor: Dikran G. Kelekian, New York  \nFormer owner \\[dealer\\]: \\[Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, until 1908; sold to MMA\\]","bibliography":"Atasoy, Nurhan, Denny, Walter B., Mackie, Louise W., Tezcan, Hulya, Raby, Julian (ed) and Effeny, Alison (ed), *IPEK: imperial Ottoman silks and velvets*, London: Azimuth Editions, 2001: 298–99, ill. fig. 287 (b/w).  \nDenny, Walter B., *How to Read Islamic Carpets*, New Haven/London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014: 123, ill. fig. 109 (colour).  \nEkhtiar, Maryam, Canby, Shelia R., Haidar, Navina and Soucek, Priscilla P. (eds), *Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011: 324-325, no. 230, ill. 324 (colour).  \nEttinghausen, Richard, \"Islamic Art\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin*, 33/1 (Spring 1975): ill. 43 (b/w).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1908","keywords":["Bursa; Turkey; Ottoman textile; Ottoman; silk; velvet; chintamani; brocade; Anatolia; fragment; textile; textile fragment"],"materials":["Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet (çatma), brocaded"]},"e6f5f348-ba35-50e4-9c8e-f3ed312366b0":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"An embroidery comprising rows of stylised red tulips and blue palmette heads, arranged in ascending order, alternating each other on undulating black stems and detailed with pink-peach and three shades of green. Being a highly sophisticated piece, this embroidery shows a crisp, well-executed drawing technique and vigorous movement and elasticity in its design. Many such types of embroidery were influenced by the brocades and velvets that were designed and made for the Ottoman court; these include a well-defined group of brocades with undulating stems, which must have influenced the layout of this embroidery.","short_description":"Many such Turkish Ottoman embroideries were influenced by the brocades and velvets that were designed and made for the Ottoman court; these include a well-defined group with undulating stems, which must have influenced the layout of this one, with its fantastic tulip and palmette heads.","type":"Ottoman textile, cotton","holder":"Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums.","dates":"Hegira 11th century / AD 17th century.","location":"Glasgow, Scotland","dimensions":"Length 228 cm, width 121 cm.","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis: the depiction of Tulips in this style is typical of Turkish Ottoman art. These Tulips appear on nearly all types of materials, including ceramics, miniature paintings, and a variety of woven fabrics as well as embroideries, from the 10th / 16th century onwards.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchased by Sir William Burrell's Trust.","bibliography":"Baker, P. L., *Islamic Textiles*, London, 1995.  \n  \nJohnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, London, 1985.  \n  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Noorah Al-Gailani","copy_editor":"Mandi Gomez","keywords":["Court life; floral decoration"],"materials":["Cotton fabric embroidered with coloured silks."]},"e7508121-a91c-5383-838a-6de746e60caa":{"name":"Four textile fragments with rows of pelicans and cattle","short_description":"The reciprocal relations between China and Europe are reflected in mobile artefacts of the Late Middle Ages, such as textiles. During its greatest expansion, the Mongolian Empire stretched from China to Baghdad. This meant that a mixture of eastern and western pictorial traditions held sway in the Mongolian textile workshops, which makes localisation of textile artefacts difficult. On these dark-blue fragments we see influences from Chinese art in the flowers and animals.","type":"Iranian textile fragment","holder":"MAK – Museum of Applied Arts","dates":"Mid-14th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 43cm, W: 18cm","provenance":"Iran","obtention":"Purchase","bibliography":"Bock, Franz, *Katalog der ehemaligen Bock'schen Sammlung von Webereien und Stickereien des Mittelalters und der Renaissance*, (Jetzt Eigenthum des k. k. Oesterreichischen Museums für Kunst und Industrie), Vienna: Gerold, 1865.","catalogue_holding_link":"https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-118209","author":"Martina Dax","keywords":["Textile; dark-blue; Iran; China; silk; Chinese influence; floral decoration; animal decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gold lamella; lampas lancé"]},"e8eaafdf-a77c-51a2-8c54-e52092c06b0b":{"name":"Calligraphic *Limar* Cloth","short_description":"Silk *limar* cloth; predominantly blue & red. White calligraphic pattern on blue ground on the central compartment & stylised motif of bamboo shoots (*pucuk rebung*) & geometric patterns on red ground (*punca kain*) at each end of the *sarong*. Identifiable words: '*La Ilaha Il Allah*' - There is no God but Allah & *Muhammadur Rasul* (Allah) - Prophet Muhammad is His Messenger. Calligraphic pattern suggests it was not worn as a garment. Perhaps utilised in ceremonial practice such as coffin cover etc.  \n  \nClick [here](< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRi5sCkwpgY>) to **watch a video presentation** of this artefact.","type":"Textile","holder":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","dates":"Hegira 13th-14th century / AD 19th-20th century","location":"Kuala Lumpur","dimensions":"220 x 73cm","provenance":"Terengganu, Malay Peninsula","bibliography":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, *Tradition & Continuity*, Kuala Lumpur: IAMM Publications, 2013: 54.","dynasty":"Terengganu Sultanate","materials":["Twill Woven Silk *Limar* Long Cloth"]},"e940cbd1-48de-5b83-bc81-a8186f6e2bca":{"name":"Saddle Cover with Design of Floral and Vegetal Motifs","short_description":"A rectangular saddle cover with *herati* pattern in the spandrels. The main blue field has a niche-like compartment with an opening for the saddle, which is bordered by a band in yellow and red with guard lines in white, yellow, blue, and red. The spandrel has a floral pattern of lanceolate leaves, palmettes, and rosettes in white, yellow, blue, red, green, and black on an orange-red ground. The border consists of three bands of floral motives in yellow, blue, and red on a blue ground (central band) and yellow ground (inner and outer bands).","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 167.6cm x Width: 86.4cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Iran, Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Saddle; Cover; Textile; Wool; Cotton; Iran; Asia; Persian"],"materials":["Wool, cotton"]},"e99ae084-468e-510d-90bc-109658d66887":{"name":"Sarma woman's dress","description":"Example of sarma, an Ottoman metallic-thread embroidery technique, spread across the Levant during Ottoman rule as urban communities adopted and embraced the style as part of elite and festive dress. Characterised by intricate gold and silver threadwork, sarma became particularly associated with urban centres such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Damascus, where members of the social elite wore richly embellished garments on ceremonial and festive occasions.","type":"Garment","holder":"Tiraz: Widad Kawar Home for Arab Dress","owner":"Tiraz","dates":"ca. 1935","location":"Amman","dimensions":"Height: 140 cm; width: 150 cm","place_of_production":"Jerusalem","provenance":"Purchased by the collector","author":"Laila Mushahwar","copy_editor":"Danielle Morcom","keywords":["embroidery; dress; metal; festivities; ceremony"],"materials":["Velvet, metal"]},"eb5b519d-c67d-5a80-8e09-395571ae29b1":{"name":"Embroidery.","description":"The nearly square textile with fringed ribbon shows all-over silver and gold embroidery. In spite of its complexity and density, the structure of the symmetrically composed design is evident. In the middle appears a *tughra*, the monogram of the Ottoman sultans, surrounded by four slightly curved flower sprays forming a small circle. The remaining area is dedicated to a motif repeated in the four corners. This motif shows a rococo-inspired basket edged with and flanked by scrolled leafy sprays on a small console and with a bouquet in it. Worked in a metal thread of a different hue, the pairs of birds beside the bouquets and all the large and small blossoms and flower sprays filling the area between are arranged in a circle.  \nTo judge from the perfect composition of the design and the high technical quality it is professional embroidery by an urban workshop. But there is another clue too. This design composed of a small inner circle formed by the *tughra* and a large outer circle suggests that the textile was used as a turban cover. To keep dust off a turban a special, always square, cover was introduced indicating its particular purpose by a circle set in the middle. However, this cover differs from the usual scheme of an inner circle design repeated in the outer one because of its manufacture for Palace use. Pieces showing a *tughra* on them were primarily made for the Palace. The *tughra* in this embroidery has been simplified and distorted, but it might be that of Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz (Abdülaziz in Turkish).","short_description":"Nearly square textile with fringed ribbon and all-over silver and gold embroidery. In the middle appears a *tughra*, the monogram of the Ottoman sultans. The composition of the design with a smaller inner and a larger outer circle suggests the textile was used as a turban cover.","type":"Textile, Wool","holder":"Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet).","initial_owner":"Possibly Sultan ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (r. AH 1277–93 / AD 1861–76).","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 78.5 cm, width 81.5 cm.","method_for_datation":"The textile shows the influence of European rococo in design, which increased on urban embroidery at the beginning of the 13th / 19th century. The *tughra* in this embroidery, although simplified and distorted, might be that of Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz ((r. 1277–93 / 1861–76). However, one should note that all *tughras* of the sultans in the 13th / 19th century show similar features.","method_for_provenance":"The design and the *tughra* show that it is a Turkish embroidery. Embroideries of the professional workshops of Istanbul and Bursa were of high technical quality as seen in this fabric. Their patterns are characterised by fine gradation in colour and influenced by European rococo.","provenance":"Turkey, possibly Istanbul or Bursa.","obtention":"There is no information about acquisition.","bibliography":"Johnstone, P., *Turkish Embroidery*, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1985.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.  \nTher, U., *Floral Messages: From Ottoman Court Embroideries to Anatolian Trousseau Chests*, Bremen, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Embroidery; writing; floral decoration; textile"],"materials":["Wool, silk, metal thread, cotton; embroidered."]},"ee26487e-5cf4-5952-b08b-0f2364696f96":{"name":"Ottoman pillow cover","short_description":"Bursa, located to the south of Istanbul, was the centre of silk velvet weaving from the 15th to the 17th century. Locally produced silk velvet textiles stitched with gold and silver threads were also popular in Europe. When the Austrian Commercial Museum mounted the first international exhibition of oriental carpets in 1891, historic silk velvet brocades from Bursa were amongst the most important objects displayed. Wealthy Ottomans had a particular liking for pillow covers (*yastık*) of silk velour (*çatma*). This Ottoman pillow cover shows cartouches with alternating inverted Persian lettering: *mobarak bad* (good luck), *sa‘adat bad* (prosperity).","type":"Household item","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 16th/ early 17th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 122.5cm, W: 61.5cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the general inventory and archival documents.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book.","provenance":"Turkey, prob. Bursa","obtention":"At the turn of the 19th century, parts of the inventory of collections of the Austrian Museum of Trade (established 1874) gradually found their way to the ethnographic department of the Imperial and Royal Court Museum of Natural History (later, Museum of Ethnology, today Weltmuseum Wien). In 1925 the Austrian Museum of Trade was dissolved.","dynasty":"Ottoman","materials":["Silk, cotton, silver threads"]},"f073f1fe-e470-5070-abe1-8c53d486f903":{"name":"Printed and painted cotton hanging","short_description":"*Carpe diem!* Seize the day! advises the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65–8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace. Make the best out of your life and take it as it comes, since you never know when you will die. An identical incitement to exchange the fearful concentration on the future for the enjoyment of the present, before one crumbles into dust in no time, is found a thousand years later at the other end of the world, in a four-line poem ascribed to the Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131 AD), which decorates a late 19th century qalamkar fabric.","type":"Textile; painting","holder":"Weltmuseum Wien","dates":"Late 19th century","location":"Vienna","dimensions":"H: 135.5cm, W: 90cm","method_for_datation":"Entry in the TMS digital collection database, documents from the estate of the late collector.","method_for_provenance":"Entry in the general inventory book, documents from the estate of the late collector.","provenance":"Iran, Isfahan","obtention":"Estate of the late Fritz Willfort, Vienna, purchased from the heirs, 2003","bibliography":"Steinmann, Axel, \"Der Phantastische Wald. Symbolik der Bäume. Baum der Vergänglichkeit\", in Gerard van Bussel and Axel Steinmann (eds), *Wald / Baum / Mensch, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Museum für Völkerkunde, 2011: 121.  \nSteinmann, Axel, \"At the Threshold of the Orient\", in Claudia Augustat and Reinhard Blumauer (eds), *In a Nutshell, exhibition catalogue*, Vienna: Weltmuseum Wien, 2017: 90-95.","dynasty":"Qajar","materials":["Cotton, pigments"]},"f076e01a-b92e-50ef-8e77-6d8f18842351":{"name":"Fragmentary cenotaph cover with Qur'anic calligraphy","short_description":"This rectangular silk textile exhibits a design of chevron bands containing calligraphic inscriptions in *thuluth* script with verses of the Qur’an, invocations to God, and the *shahada*, or Muslim profession of faith. This type of textile covered important Ottoman tombs, and recalls the *kiswa* fabrics woven in similar designs, but of much larger scale, that were sent annually by the Ottoman sultans to adorn the Ka‘ba in Mecca.","type":"Textile","holder":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","dates":"Hegira 11th–early 13th century / AD 17th–18th century","location":"New York","dimensions":"Textile: H: 97.2cm, W: 67.9cm; Mount: H: 106.8cm, W: 77.8cm, D: 3.5cm","provenance":"Turkey","obtention":"The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931  \nFormer owner: Michael Friedsam, New York (until d. 1932; bequeathed to MMA)","bibliography":"Ekhtiar, Maryam, *How to Read Islamic Calligraphy*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018: 4, 104–5, no. 28, ill. 4, 104.  \nHaidar, Navina and Sardar, Marika, *Opulence and Fantasy. Sultans of Deccan India 1500–1700*, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015: 18, ill. fig. 9 (colour).  \nSchimmel, Annemarie, \"Islamic Calligraphy\", *Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series*, 50/1 (Summer 1992): 56, ill. fig. 66 (b/w).","dynasty":"Ottoman","copyright":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931","keywords":["Ottoman; Turkey; textile; Ottoman textile; Arabic inscription; cloth; fabric; funerary object; funerary inscription; inscription; kiswa; lampas weave; shahada; silk; textile fragment; fragment; thuluth"],"materials":["Silk; lampas"]},"f0ec39f8-905e-5c73-87ea-5225163d384d":{"name":"Small Rectangular Pavilion Tent","short_description":"The simple red cotton plain weave exterior of this tent contrasts with the dramatic and elaborate embroidered decoration of the interior, probably accomplished in the Iranian town of Resht, a locale famous for its rich embroidery in chain-stitch technique. The tent comprises four walls, with a door panel at the end of one long side, and a gabled top made from two large rectangular panels and two triangular pediments, one at each end. The interior features appliquéd red, blue, green, and yellow pieced wool plain-weave fabrics embellished with tambour chain-stitch embroidery (the so-called *rashi* technique). Leather has been added to reinforce points of potential stress, wear, and friction.","type":"Textiles","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira Mid 12th to early 13th century / AD late 19th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 289cm x Width: 304cm x Diamter: 213cm","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Rasht, Persia (Iran), Asia","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard, 1929","bibliography":"Denny, Walter and Farnham, Thomas, *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: The Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.","dynasty":"Qajar","keywords":["Rectangular; Pavillion; Tent; Textile; Wool; Cotton, Silk; Leather; Rasht; Persia; Iran; Asia; Persian"],"materials":["Wool, cotton, silk, leather"]},"f0fbf3fe-1168-5514-90da-4ae1a4c94a50":{"name":"Brocade.","description":"The aesthetics of this fabric is based on a repetitive design of large medallions and a well-balanced use of only three colours. Finely drawn silver arabesques fill the centre of each medallion, surrounded by a narrow poly-lobed frame of red silk. It follows a row of circles alternately coloured red and silver. A zigzag encloses this inner pattern. Red contoured trefoils and leaves on a golden background form the outer border. A detail which also proves the skill of the designer is the small silver point emphasising the middle of each trefoil.  \nThis brocade is part of a larger piece formerly used as an antependium (altar frontal). Many of the ecclesiastical textiles made in Sweden include fabrics imported from Persia and Turkey.","short_description":"Brocade with a repetitive design of large medallions. The design shows a well-balanced use of colours: silver for the arabesques which fill the centre of each medallion and red for the surrounding poly-lobed frames. This brocade is part of a larger piece formerly used as an antependium (altar frontal).","type":"Textile, Silk, gold, metal thread","holder":"Museum of National Antiquities.","owner":"Hjortsberga Church, Blekinge, Sweden.","initial_owner":"Hjortsberga Church, Blekinge, Sweden.","dates":"Hegira 9th–10th centuries / AD 15th–16th centuries.","location":"Stockholm","dimensions":"Height 174 cm, width 94 cm.","method_for_datation":"Dated by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","method_for_provenance":"Provenance established by A. Geijer (see Bibliography).","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Deposit by Hjortsberga Church.","bibliography":"Ådahl, K. (ed.), *Sverige och den Islamiska Världen*, Värnamo, 2002, pp.178–81.  \nGeijer, A., *Oriental Textiles in Sweden*, Copenhagen, 1951, p.50, cat. no. 48, plate 24.  \n*Islam, Konst och Kultur. Islam, Art and Culture*, Exhibition catalogue, Stockholm, 1985, 209, cat. no. 9.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Friederike Voigt","copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textile; floral ornament; floral decoration"],"materials":["Silk, gold and silver threads; brocade."]},"f213ba89-7885-5b92-9751-68053497df4b":{"name":"Two  textile fragments","short_description":"With its calligraphic frieze, in which letters end in animal heads, its lively lions and griffins rooted in the Sasanian and Byzantine tradition, and its sumptuous, lotus-like flowers on arabesque vines, the textile combines features from the culture of East and West.  \nThe use of paper for the silver thread points towards China, while the iconography is Western.","type":"Textile, silk","holder":"The David Collection","dates":"Hegira 7th century / AD 13th century","location":"Copenhagen","provenance":"East Islamic world or China","dynasty":"Ilkhanid","keywords":["Textile; Combination of West and East; Silk and silvered paper; Chinese influence; imaginary animal; zoomorphic imagery; calligraphy; floral decoration"],"materials":["Samitum-woven, silk and silvered paper lamella"]},"f2e52825-73be-523d-a8e0-d681f7908689":{"name":"Small \"Chessboard\" carpet","description":"Made from distinctive coarse and shiny wool, this example features a vertical row of eight-pointed stars in hexagonal compartments around octagonal motifs.","type":"Textile","holder":"Saint Louis Art Museum","dates":"Hegira early 11th century / AD early 17th century","location":"Saint Louis","dimensions":"Length: 162.6cm, width: 96.5cm.","place_of_production":"Damascus","method_for_datation":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","method_for_provenance":"Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.","provenance":"Damascus","obtention":"Gift of James F. Ballard.","bibliography":"Denny, Walter, and Farnham, Thomas J., *The Carpet and the Connoisseur: The James F. Ballard Colection of Oriental Rugs*, Saint Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 2016.  \n  \nWalker, Daniel, *Turkish Rugs*, Saint Louis: Saint Louis Art Museum, 1988.","dynasty":"Ottomans","copy_editor":"Alvaro Miranda","materials":["Wool"]},"f5534c7f-4ba5-5e47-aca4-efc34893cbc5":{"name":"Textile.","description":"The fabric is decorated in the centre with a large motif of a vase of flowers inside a pointed frame that rests on two small columns, at the base of which there are two cypress trees. The lower part of the fabric depicts a gated entrance crowned with a crescent moon beneath an epigraphic motif in Arabic characters. On either side there are large cypress trees beside star motifs. The entire piece is framed with plant volutes with lance-shaped leaves and four- and five-petal flowers. The decoration consists of gold- and silver-plated wire embroidery.","short_description":"This fabric is of Turkish origin produced in the late Ottoman era and is characterised by naturalistic floral motifs, in which the influence of Western decorative trends can be clearly seen.","type":"Silk, satin, metal thread","holder":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century.","location":"Rome","dimensions":"Height 300 cm, width 200 cm.","method_for_provenance":"This fabric was produced in late-Ottoman Turkey in the 13th / late 19th century and is characterised by the use of naturalistic floral motifs that clearly show a strong influence of more Western decorative elements.","provenance":"Turkey.","obtention":"Purchase.","bibliography":"Barışta, H. ö., “Turkish Embroideries: Later Period of The Ottoman Empire”, *Seventh International Congress of Turkish Art*, Warsaw, 1990, pp.37–42.  \nGönül, M., “Some Turkish Embroideries in the Collection of the Topkapisaray Museum in Istanbul”, *Kunst des Orients*, 1969, VI, pp.43–76.  \nTaylor, R., *Ottoman Embroidery*, London, 1993.","dynasty":"Ottoman","linkcatalogs":"IAM_TR_EN_001","author":"Paola Torre","copy_editor":"Pier Paolo Racioppi","translator":"Laurence Nunny","translation_copy_editor":"Monica Allen","keywords":["Textile; floral decoration; embroidery, Ottoman textiles; vegetal decoration"],"materials":["Silk satin embroidered with metal thread."]},"f6a4d871-3bbf-5f91-943b-4fb7cd618871":{"name":"Saddle (*serj*)","description":"A saddle (*serj*) crafted in Rabat in the 19th century, but making use of British imports such as velvet (*nta‘a*), leather and gold thread.","type":"Saddle","holder":"Dar Jamaï Museum","dates":"19th century","location":"Meknès","dimensions":"H: 105cm, W: 84cm","keywords":["Craftsmanship; traditional craftsmanship; Moroccan craftsmen; leather; leatherwork; trade; raw material; finished products; British in Morocco; horsemanship"],"materials":["Velvet; gold thread; metal; leather"]},"f7fde934-bd37-5990-9d4a-995069413fad":{"name":"Textile","description":"Textile with stencilled decoration with Arab calligraphy. The textile surface has different shades.","type":"Textile","holder":"Museum of Costume, Ethnographical Heritage Research Centre","dates":"c. 1900 – c. 1940","location":"Madrid","dimensions":"38 x 52 cm","provenance":"Venice","artist_birthdate":"1871","artist_deathdate":"1949","author":"Lucina Llorente","copy_editor":"Anne Dowell","keywords":["Design; Islamic influence"],"materials":["Linen and metal; tabby or plain weave, stecilled decoration"],"artist":"Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo"},"fa052673-5ed9-5255-bc4c-8cacacef21c2":{"name":"Kaaba *Kiswah* (Covering)","short_description":"Prior to Islam, regional tribes competed to cloak the Kaaba, a religious sanctuary. Every year on the ninth day of the Pilgrimage month, a new *Kiswah* (covering) reveals the Kaaba’s new face in a ceremony while concealing the building’s appearance. Sewn by Egyptian craftsman in 1910, this fragment of the *Kiswah* to the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia represents the curtain covering an architectural door adorned with calligraphy. A generous 220 kilograms of gold and silver embroider the 670 kilograms of black-dyed silk. The year-long manufacture, considered a religious duty, requires precision and laborious processes to create a fitted garment that can withstand the hot sun. Egyptian rural production centres produced the *Kiswah* for centuries. Today, modern media helps witness the production and ritual replacement worldwide with livestream coverage.","type":"Religious relic","holder":"FBQ Museum","owner":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani","dates":"1910","location":"Shahaniya","dimensions":"Length: 582cm, Width: 290cm","place_of_production":"Egypt","method_for_datation":"The date and commissioner are embroidered onto the Kiwa.","method_for_provenance":"The Kiswa covers the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.","provenance":"Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia","obtention":"Gift","bibliography":"Alashari, D. M., Hamzah, A. R., and Marni, N., \"The Aesthetics and Greatness of the Kiswah of the Kaaba in the Saudi Era\", *Umran-International Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies*, 8 : 1 (2021).  \nAlhazmi, N. H., *Maintenance as Spectacle: Imagery of the Ka’ba’s Cleaning and Kiswa*, Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2021.","author":"Sarah Schroeder","copy_editor":"Valerie Pulsifer","keywords":["Kiswa; Kaaba; Mecca; Saudi Arabia"],"materials":["Silk, cotton, gold, silver; embroidery"]},"fbd001b0-41f7-592f-b717-94dbb55470d2":{"name":"Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Abdülmecid ['Abd al-Majid] I","short_description":"The curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba – known also as *sitara*, *burda* or *burqu‘* – was by far the most elaborate part of the *kiswa* and was replaced annually. Since Mamluk times, they were made in Egypt, and left Cairo with the *kiswa* accompanied by the caravan of pilgrims amidst great pomp and circumstance.  \n  \nThe design of this curtain is typical of those made at the Dar al-Kiswa in Cairo during the 19th century, and it continued to be used until the early 20th century. Curtains of this type were usually made in four sections which were embroidered and then sewn together, the heavy wire embroidery almost completely obscuring the seams. The silk fabric was backed with heavy canvas which helped support the weight of the wire, which on a heavily embroidered example like this, can weigh anything up to 60 kilograms. With its heavy use of embroidery, this curtain could have easily taken 20 or more embroiderers two months to complete.","type":"Textile; Ka‘ba door curtain; *sitara*; *burqu‘*; *burda*, *kiswa*; Dar al-Kiswa; wire embroidery","holder":"Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection","dates":"Dated Hejira 1263 / AD 1846–7","location":"London","dimensions":"550 x 275cm","method_for_datation":"The date is embroidered on the curtain.","provenance":"Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa","bibliography":"al-Mojan, M.H., *al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan*, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).  \nNassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), *The Hajj: Collected Essays*, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.  \nTezcan, H., *Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn*, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.  \nTezcan, H., *Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines*, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.","dynasty":"Ottoman","author":"Nahla Nassar","keywords":["Calligraphy; Ceremonial object; Cotton; Curtain; Embroidery; Hajj; Hijaz; ka'ba; Ottoman textile; Pilgrimage; Pilgrimage route; Religion; Religious object; Silk; Silver; Textile; Travel; Mecca"],"materials":["Black silk, with red and gold-coloured silk appliqués, heavily relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding"]},"ff84f82c-c3c2-50e4-8ddf-d6d4c8fd00cb":{"name":"*Suzani*","short_description":"Largely known as ‘Bukhara embroideries’, *suzanis* were much prized in Romania. The term, derived from the Persian *suzan*, which means ‘needle’, is applied to a type of embroideries produced in urban workshops from a region in present-day Uzbekistan. As part of the bride’s dowry *suzanis* vary in size and design, and may serve different purposes. They involve the joint effort of several artisans. At first the composition is drawn on the fabric which is then cut into several pieces in order to be embroidered by other women. Subsequently the embroidered pieces are stitched together; the resulting irregularities add to the particular charm of the ensemble. In spite of obvious stylistic differences between the *suzanis* made in Bukhara, Tashkent, Shahrisabz, or Nurata, a definitive provenance may prove difficult to establish. Irrespective of the manufacturing centre all *suzani* embroideries share a specific chromatic exuberance reminiscent to a certain degree of the Mughal and Ottoman art, and quite unlike the restricted colour range of Central Asian carpets. The present embroidery belongs to the group of so-called ‘large-medallion *suzanis*’, more precisely to an extremely rare subgroup limited until recently to only three other examples. The Persian and Hellenistic motifs treated in a free, unrestrained manner recall the rich cultural heritage of Central Asia, which witnessed the rise and fall of great civilizations.","type":"Embroidery","holder":"The National Museum of Art of Romania","dates":"Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century","location":"Bucharest","dimensions":"Length: 194cm, Width: 146cm","method_for_datation":"Stylistic analysis","method_for_provenance":"Stylistic analysis","provenance":"Bukhara, Uzbekistan","obtention":"Purchased by the Museum in 1982.","bibliography":"Beldescu, I.-A., *Broderii orientale*, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2001: 20, cat. no. 8.  \nDunca, M., Islamic Art at the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest: National Museum of Art of Romania, 2015: 50, no.17.  \nKalter, J., *The Arts and Crafts of Turkestan*, London: Thames and Hudson, 1984.","author":"Mircea Dunca","keywords":["Large-medallion suzani"],"materials":["Cotton embroidered with silk (4 pieces stitched together)"]}}