Textile Arts18th century

Epigraphic Textile

17th-18th century

Description

On the central section of this textile, an inscription in monumental thuluth script is repeated twelve times. The text comes from the Sura al-Fath (Victory, 48:3): “And that Allah may help thee with powerful help.” The mention of help or victory from God appears often on Muslim tombstones or tomb covers, making it likely that this textile is a fragment from a tomb cover. The text section is bordered above and below by bands that are filled with a foliate scroll that alternates palmettes and flower buds. This a draw-loom woven textile. The weave structure is a complementary weft with inner warp in plain weave (taqueté), with a warp proportion of 1:4. The text comprises a technical repeat unit measuring 18.5 x 11.1 cm. On this fragment, the technical repeat unit is employed in straight repeat six times in weft direction and not quite twice in warp direction. The technical repeat unit for the floral band has the same dimension in the weft direction and it also is deployed only in straight repeats. The top, bottom, and right side of the textile have been trimmed, but the left side preserves a double cord selvedge. In its faded condition the textile appears bichromatic—light tan letters against a dark blue ground—but it originally featured at least four colors in the patterning wefts: yellow, orange, brown-black and dark blue. Inscribed: Qur'an 48:3 وَيَنصُرَكَ ٱللَّهُ نَصْرًا عَزِيزًا And that Allah may help thee with powerful help (Yusuf Ali translation)

Classification

Textile Arts

Medium

Silk woven with complementary wefts, inner warps, and binding warps in plain weave (taqueté)

Period

Safavid period and Zand period

Century

18th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art

Dimensions

69.1 x 40 cm (27 3/16 x 15 3/4 in.) framed: 84.5 x 54.3 x 7.6 cm (33 1/4 x 21 3/8 x 3 in.)

Provenance

[Soustiel, Paris, 18 June 1975], sold; to Edwin Binney, 3rd, California (1975-1986), bequest; to Harvard Art Museums, 2017 NOTE: Stored at the San Diego Museum of Art from some time before 1986 until 1991, then at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1991-2011.