Silk calligraphic shrine cover – Turkey

Object History 
This piece was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq

Ṭariq: (Arabic; Synonym: tulle_bi_talli; talli; badla; khus_dozi ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the Levant Arab region specifically in Lebanon.

El Mutwalli Dr. Reem Tariq

Ṭariq: (Arabic; Synonym: tulle_bi_talli; talli; badla; khus_dozi ), series of small metal knots made on a woven net ground as embellishment. The term is commonly used in the Levant Arab region specifically in Lebanon.

el Mutwallī: Founder (CEO) of the Zay Zay: (Arabic: costume, Pl. azyaā’), a set of clothes in a style typical of a particular country or historical period. Initiative, a public figure, speaker and author. An expert curator and consultant in Islamic art and architecture, interior design, historic costume, and UAE heritage. from Chiswick Auctions, London in 2017 to be added and enhance The Zay Zay: (Arabic: costume, Pl. azyaā’), a set of clothes in a style typical of a particular country or historical period. Initiative collections.
 
Object Features 
This is a red and beige rectangular woven silk religious wrap or cover (kiswah Kiswah: (Arabic: kiswat al-ka'bah from Arabic: kuswa – robe or apparel), overall covering of the Islamic holy shrine of Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia woven with dyed silk yarns. It is draped once annually and is accompanied with several other supplementary parts. ). In compliance with the style and design of the cover on the Ka’ba in Mecca, a kiswah Kiswah: (Arabic: kiswat al-ka'bah from Arabic: kuswa – robe or apparel), overall covering of the Islamic holy shrine of Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia woven with dyed silk yarns. It is draped once annually and is accompanied with several other supplementary parts.  is often used to cover or lay upon objects of religious reverence like the Holy Quran and is sometimes also laid on the graves of the deceased.
This particular piece is elaborately decorated with bands of chevron containing inscriptions of the Quranic verses in Arabic calligraphy that roughly translates to "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger."
The fabric has a (selvedge Selvedge: (English: Self-finished edge or self-edge: a dialect forming transition), an edge produced on woven fabric during manufacture that prevents it from unravelling. Traditionally the term selvage applied to only loom woven fabric, presently it could be applied to flat knitted fabric too. ) to selvedge Selvedge: (English: Self-finished edge or self-edge: a dialect forming transition), an edge produced on woven fabric during manufacture that prevents it from unravelling. Traditionally the term selvage applied to only loom woven fabric, presently it could be applied to flat knitted fabric too.  weave and was woven in a (jacquard Jacquard: (After Joseph M Jacquard a French weaver and inventor), is referred to both an apparatus with perforated cards invented by the aforementioned Joseph M Jacquard in 1804 fitted to a loom enabling complex intricate weaving patterns and the brocaded fabric woven on a jacquard loom. ) loom. While the (weft Weft: one of the two basic components used in weaving that transforms thread or yarns into a piece of fabric. It is the crosswise thread on a loom that is passed over and under the warp threads.) ends are intact its (warp Warp: One of the two basic components used in weaving which transforms thread or yarns to a piece of fabric. The warp is the set of yarns stretched longitudinally in place on a loom before the weft Weft: one of the two basic components used in weaving that transforms thread or yarns into a piece of fabric. It is the crosswise thread on a loom that is passed over and under the warp threads. is introduced during the weaving process. ) ends are loose and unfinished possibly because it has been cut from a full-length fabric with possibly the same design repeat.
This type of textile often covered important Ottoman tombs and is reminiscent of the much larger kiswah Kiswah: (Arabic: kiswat al-ka'bah from Arabic: kuswa – robe or apparel), overall covering of the Islamic holy shrine of Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia woven with dyed silk yarns. It is draped once annually and is accompanied with several other supplementary parts.  fabrics that were annually sent by the Ottoman sultans to adorn the Ka'ba in Mecca.
The term kiswah Kiswah: (Arabic: kiswat al-ka'bah from Arabic: kuswa – robe or apparel), overall covering of the Islamic holy shrine of Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia woven with dyed silk yarns. It is draped once annually and is accompanied with several other supplementary parts.  has multiple translations, with common ones being 'robe' or 'garment'. Due to the iconic designs and the quality of materials used in creating the kiswah Kiswah: (Arabic: kiswat al-ka'bah from Arabic: kuswa – robe or apparel), overall covering of the Islamic holy shrine of Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia woven with dyed silk yarns. It is draped once annually and is accompanied with several other supplementary parts. , it is considered one of the most sacred objects in Islamic art, ritual, and worship.
 
Links

• [video width="720" height="900" mp4="https://thezay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/مشاهد-نادرة-لنقل-كسوة-الكعبة-من-مصر-إلى-الحجاز-1938.mp4"][/video]


• https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6393426 


• Hameed, Nada. “How the Manufacturing of the Kaaba Cover, Kiswa, Changed over the Centuries.” Arab News, 30 July 2022, www.arabnews.com/node/2119016/saudi-arabia.  


• Vincent-Barwood, Aileen. “A Gift from the Kingdom.” Aramco World: Arab and Islamic Cultures and Connection, vol. 36, no. 5, Oct. 1985. https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/198505/a.gift.from.the.kingdom.htm 


• Kern, Karen M., et al. “The Sacred and the Modern: The History, Conservation, and Science of the Madina Sitara.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 52, 2017, pp. 72–93, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/696548 


• Robinson, Arthur E. “The Mahmal of the Moslem Pilgrimage.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1, 1931, pp. 117–27. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25194179. Accessed 22 July 2023. 


• Ghazal Ghazal: spinning cotton, wool, silk and others, the act of stretching and twisting threads. The spinner is called (al ghazzal)., Rym. “Woven With Devotion: The Sacred Islamic Textiles of Kaaba.” The National News, 24 Aug. 2014, https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/woven-with-devotion-the-sacred-islamic-textiles-of-the-kaaba-1.258782 


• EL-SHAMMA RAWAN RADWAN, MOHAMED. “When the Kaaba’s Kiswa Came from Egypt.” Arab News, 31 July 2019, https://www.arabnews.com/node/1533841/saudi-arabia