1985.308: Fragment of a Cenotaph Cover

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1985.308

Title

Fragment of a Cenotaph Cover

Classification

Textile Arts

Work Type

textile

Date

c. 1600 - 1900

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Türkiye (Turkey)

Period

Ottoman period

Culture

Ottoman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/215841

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Compound silk weave; red satin warp-faced ground, patterned with white wefts binding in plain

Dimensions

37.6 x 17.2 cm (14 13/16 x 6 3/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Edwin Binney, 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard Art Museums

Accession Year

1985

Object Number

1985.308

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This silk fragment was woven to adorn the interior wall of the Kaʿba, the holiest shrine in Islam located in Mecca. During the obligatory pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca, visitors encounter this square building covered with a cloth known as the kiswa. Special textiles are commissioned annually to furnish the Kaʿba. During the Ottoman period, such textiles were funded by the sultans.

This red and white textile inscribed in thuluth script with Qurʾanic verses and invocations was originally part of a larger internal kiswa made for the Kaʿba. After each year, such textiles were cut up and reused for various purposes, such as covering the graves of the deceased. This fragment likely experienced another context of reuse before entering the museum.

Inscriptions:

From the top to the bottom of the textile:

Top zig-zag (1): phrases in praise of God
Large zig-zag (2): in the lamps and medallions are invocations of God, “oh the munificent,” “oh the mighty,” “oh the sublime”
Smaller zig-zig (3): Qurʾan: 2:144 (partial); “Many a time have we seen you turn your face towards the sky. We will make you turn towards a qiblah that will please you. Turn your face towards the Holy Mosque.”

Top of another zig-zag (4): the shahada

Exhibition History

• The Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Turkish Art at the Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 05/16/1987 - 08/02/1987

Verification Level