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Source Description

Woven with consummate skill, this very fine linen fabric enriched with silk and gold thread displays small birds amid interlacing bands flanked by Arabic inscriptions. It represents the final artistic and technical height of imperial textiles called <em>tiraz</em>, a Persian word meaning embroidery or decorative work. Here, tiraz refers to textiles with Arabic inscriptions; it can also identify court workshops and their production. The historical Arabic inscription, written in angular Kufic script with decorative letter bowls and palmette scrolls between shafts, reads: “proximate victory to the servant of God and his close friend Ma‘add Abū Tamīm, the imam Ahmad [Abū] al-Qāsim al-Musta‘lī bi-Allāh and his so[ns]” (upper line), and “Commander of the believers bin [a] l-Qāsim Shā[han] shah . . . the believers . . . the Muslims[?] and the believers[?]” (lower line).

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
141731
label
Turban or shawl end with tiraz and gold
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
141731
contentType
object
title
Turban or shawl end with tiraz and gold
description
Woven with consummate skill, this very fine linen fabric enriched with silk and gold thread displays small birds amid interlacing bands flanked by Arabic inscriptions. It represents the final artistic and technical height of imperial textiles called <em>tiraz</em>, a Persian word meaning embroidery or decorative work. Here, tiraz refers to textiles with Arabic inscriptions; it can also identify court workshops and their production. The historical Arabic inscription, written in angular Kufic script with decorative letter bowls and palmette scrolls between shafts, reads: “proximate victory to the servant of God and his close friend Ma‘add Abū Tamīm, the imam Ahmad [Abū] al-Qāsim al-Musta‘lī bi-Allāh and his so[ns]” (upper line), and “Commander of the believers bin [a] l-Qāsim Shā[han] shah . . . the believers . . . the Muslims[?] and the believers[?]” (lower line).
date
1094
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60780785
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 62.3 x 54.6 cm (24 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.)
cul
Egypt, Fatimid period, reign of al-Musta‘lī
accession
1965.313
Source extras
tec
plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen, silk, and gold filé
tombstone
Turban or shawl end with tiraz and gold, 1094. Egypt, Fatimid period, reign of al-Musta‘lī. Plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen, silk, and gold filé; overall: 62.3 x 54.6 cm (24 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Textile Arts Club to commemorate its 30th Anniversary, 1965.313
collection
Textiles
citations
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
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 213
citation
Wardwell, Anne E. Material Matters: Fifty Years of Gifts from the Textile Arts Club, 1934-1984 : [Exhibition] 21 November-30 December 1984, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum, 1984.
page_number
p. 18
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. 108, fig. 3.25; Mentioned: P. 109, 117, 215
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. 99; Reproduced: p. 98 and 142
creditline
Gift of The Textile Arts Club to commemorate its 30th Anniversary
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:16:57.533000
sourceId
141731
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
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
ece19cc354aa551c