Tiraz Fragment

Object Name:: Tiraz fragment

Date:: late 10th century

Geography:: Attributed to probably Iraq

Medium:: Linen; plain weave, painted

Dimensions:: Textile: H. 9 in. (22.9 cm) W. 14 in. (35.6 cm) Mount: H. 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm) W. 18 1/8 in. (46 cm) D. 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)

Classification:: Textiles-Rugs

Credit Line:: Gift of George D. Pratt, 1931

Accession Number:: 31.106.32

Not on view

The painted decoration of this cotton fragment imitates more luxurious examples that are embroidered with silk. The inscription reads "perfect blessing" and the final letter of the word baraka (blessing) extends to punctuate another series of repetitions created in the zone above the main inscription. Unlike the silk-embroidered caliphal inscriptions that proclaim lofty political statements and benedictions, the painted versions bear inscriptions expressing simple blessings for the owner. Such textiles were probably produced in commercial workshops for markets in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

Inscription: The large Arabic inscription in Kufic reads: "In the name of God, the merciful, the most merciful" and a repeating inscription of "perfect blessing."
The small line of writing also has a repeating inscription of the "perfect blessing"

George D. Pratt, New York (until 1931; gifted to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops," December 15, 1992–March 14, 1993, no. 20.

Walker, Daniel S., and Aimee Froom. "Exhibition Notebook." In Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops. New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. no. 20, pp. 31-32.

Timelines
Iraq (Mesopotamia) 500–1000 A.D.

Department

Islamic Art (14,468)

Object Type / Material

Geographic Location