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Source Description
This textile with expensive gold foil is among the rarest surviving examples among thousands of medieval textiles with historic or generic inscriptions in Arabic, known as <em>tiraz</em>. Tiraz were "emblems of dignity," the prerogative of sovereigns and those they wished to honor. This inscription is masterful. The tall letters are woven with silk thread on only two warps in slit-tapestry weave while the ground was woven with pure gold foil wrapped around a silk core that was not beaten in—to show off its brilliance. The text begins with a prayer and provides the name of Imam al-Hakim, but lacks the place and date of manufacture. The decorative bands feature brilliant gold birds facing simplified trees alternating with popular palmette-decorated hearts. This tiraz fragment may have been part of a wide sleeve that functioned as a receptacle because clothing didn’t have pockets.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
127913
label
Tiraz with gold, probably from a wide sleeve
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
127913
contentType
object
title
Tiraz with gold, probably from a wide sleeve
description
This textile with expensive gold foil is among the rarest surviving examples among thousands of medieval textiles with historic or generic inscriptions in Arabic, known as <em>tiraz</em>. Tiraz were "emblems of dignity," the prerogative of sovereigns and those they wished to honor. This inscription is masterful. The tall letters are woven with silk thread on only two warps in slit-tapestry weave while the ground was woven with pure gold foil wrapped around a silk core that was not beaten in—to show off its brilliance. The text begins with a prayer and provides the name of Imam al-Hakim, but lacks the place and date of manufacture. The decorative bands feature brilliant gold birds facing simplified trees alternating with popular palmette-decorated hearts. This tiraz fragment may have been part of a wide sleeve that functioned as a receptacle because clothing didn’t have pockets.
date
1013–1020
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79908317
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 23.5 x 62.3 cm (9 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.)
cul
Egypt, Fatimid period, reign of Caliph al-Hakim, 1013–20
accession
1950.549
Source extras
tec
plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen, silk, and gold filé
tombstone
Tiraz with gold, probably from a wide sleeve, 1013–1020. Egypt, Fatimid period, reign of Caliph al-Hakim, 1013–20. Plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen, silk, and gold filé; overall: 23.5 x 62.3 cm (9 1/4 x 24 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1950.549
collection
T - Islamic
citations
citation
Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Etienne Combe, Jean Sauvaget, et Gaston Wiet. Répertoire chronologique d'épigraphie arabe. Le Caire: Impr. de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1931.
page_number
no. 2214
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. 56
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. 99, fig. 3.14; Mentioned: P. 99, 215
citation
O'Kane, Bernard. "The Egyptian Art of the Tiraz in Fatimid Times." In <em>The World of the Fatimids</em>. Melikian-Chirvani, Assadullah Souren, ed. Toronto: Aga Khan Museum in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies and Hirmer, 2018.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 182-183; Reproduced: p. 183
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. 15, 55 and 97; Reproduced: p. 15, fig. 6, p. 55, fig. 7 and 8, and 96.
citation
Hanson, Robin and Holly Witchey. "Dorothy Shepherd and the Cleveland Museum of Art's Ancient Near Eastern and Islamic Art Collection." <em>Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals</em> 20, n. 3 (September 2024): 461-473.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 468 (fig. 6)
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:36:11.822000
sourceId
127913
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen, silk, and gold filé
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e6951865db925a66