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This finely woven linen cloth, dyed a cherished pistachio color, was cut from a longer fabric worn folded and wrapped as a turban with the silk tapestry-woven decoration shown off in the front. It contains two opposing rows of nearly identical Arabic text separated by a row of medallions displaying a pair of birds. The historical text begins by praising Allah, asking that he assist the Caliph al-‘Aziz and bless him and his ancestors. The inscription also specifies that the vizier Abu ibn Yusuf ordered the cloth from the private factory (tiraz) in Tinnis. This luxurious cloth could have been a gift from the caliph in Cairo during the Fatimid period to a courtier or visiting dignitary. It is one of the finest known examples.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
f50a0177d8d55463
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
127673
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "127673",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Turban end with tiraz",
    "description": "This finely woven linen cloth, dyed a cherished pistachio color, was cut from a longer fabric worn folded and wrapped as a turban with the silk tapestry-woven decoration shown off in the front. It contains two opposing rows of nearly identical Arabic text separated by a row of medallions displaying a pair of birds. The historical text begins by praising Allah, asking that he assist the Caliph al-‘Aziz and bless him and his ancestors. The inscription also specifies that the vizier Abu ibn Yusuf ordered the cloth from the private factory (tiraz) in Tinnis. This luxurious cloth could have been a gift from the caliph in Cairo during the Fatimid period to a courtier or visiting dignitary. It is one of the finest known examples.",
    "date": "983–990",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.354",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79907865"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Textile"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 49.5 x 151.1 cm (19 1/2 x 59 1/2 in.); Mounted: 60.3 x 161.9 cm (23 3/4 x 63 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, Tinnis, Fatimid period, datable to 983-90"
    ],
    "accession": "1950.354"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "127673",
    "label": "Turban end with tiraz",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "127673",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Turban end with tiraz",
    "description": "This finely woven linen cloth, dyed a cherished pistachio color, was cut from a longer fabric worn folded and wrapped as a turban with the silk tapestry-woven decoration shown off in the front. It contains two opposing rows of nearly identical Arabic text separated by a row of medallions displaying a pair of birds. The historical text begins by praising Allah, asking that he assist the Caliph al-‘Aziz and bless him and his ancestors. The inscription also specifies that the vizier Abu ibn Yusuf ordered the cloth from the private factory (tiraz) in Tinnis. This luxurious cloth could have been a gift from the caliph in Cairo during the Fatimid period to a courtier or visiting dignitary. It is one of the finest known examples.",
    "date": "983–990",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.354",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79907865"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Textile"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 49.5 x 151.1 cm (19 1/2 x 59 1/2 in.); Mounted: 60.3 x 161.9 cm (23 3/4 x 63 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, Tinnis, Fatimid period, datable to 983-90"
    ],
    "accession": "1950.354"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen and silk",
    "tombstone": "Turban end with tiraz, 983–990. Egypt, Tinnis, Fatimid period, datable to 983-90. Plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen and silk; overall: 49.5 x 151.1 cm (19 1/2 x 59 1/2 in.); mounted: 60.3 x 161.9 cm (23 3/4 x 63 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1950.354",
    "collection": "Textiles",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Wadsworth Atheneum, Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, and Charles Crehore Cunningham. 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition : Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952 ; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952. Hartford, Conn: Wardsworth Atheneum], 1951.",
            "page_number": "no. 55"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Kühnel, Ernst. Four Remarkable Ṭirāz Textiles. [Locust Valley, N.J.]: [J.J. Augustin], 1952.",
            "page_number": "p. 147-48, pl. XXVII, fig.1"
        },
        {
            "citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 691",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n126"
        },
        {
            "citation": "The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 213",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n237"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Mackie, Louise W. <em>Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century</em>. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015.",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: P. 96-97, fig. 3.12; Mentioned: P. 97-98, 103"
        },
        {
            "citation": "McWilliams, Mary, and Jochen A. Sokoly. Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard Art Museums, 2021.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 26, 53 and 95; Reproduced: opposite title page, p.27, fig. 12, p. 53, fig 4 and p.94"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.354",
    "creditline": "Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 06:34:20.512000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 127673,
    "dept": "Textiles",
    "coll": "Textiles",
    "med": "plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen and silk",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.354/1950.354_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "f50a0177d8d55463"
}