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Artwork Details
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Title:Tiraz Fragment
Date:10th century
Geography:Attributed to Egypt
Medium:Linen, silk; plain weave, tapestry weave
Dimensions:Textile: L. 29 in. (73.7 cm) W. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm) Mount: L. 33 1/8 in. (84.1 cm) W. 40 in. (101.6 cm)
Classification:Textiles
Credit Line:Gift of George D. Pratt, 1929
Accession Number:29.179.8
Textile Fragments 29.179.8 and .50; from same textile and mounted together
Few complete inscribed garments survive and the fragmentary nature of extant tiraz often make it quite difficult to identify their context and function. These textile fragments, however, offer some clues. Both contain selvage and also inscriptions that are part of the same larger phrase, an inscribed benediction repeated along the length of the textile. The fringed ends and narrow horizontal decorative bands, plus their overall scale, indicate that these fragments are part of a shawl. The generic nature of the pious inscription suggests that the shawl was created for the open market and not for a caliph or his court. Furthermore, the inscription does not begin at the beginning, but abruptly in the middle of the Basmala, de-emphasizing the literary value of this phrase.
[Walker and Froom 1992]
Fatimid Veil with Tiraz Inscription
Textiles played an extremely important role in Islamic society. This can be seen in the great variety of fabrics, their functions, and the number of terms for textile fabrics, techniques, and garments in Islamic languages. Medieval Islamic textiles produced in a wide area from Spain to India and decorated with Arabic inscriptions became known as tiraz. This term has been used to refer to the textiles themselves, the bands of inscription, and to the factories that produced them.
Most surviving tiraz fragments come from burial sites in Egypt, where the climate and soil were conductive to their preservation. Few complete inscribed garments survive and the fragmentary nature of of extant tiraz often make it quite difficult to identfy their context or function. These textile fragments, however, offer some clues. Both contain a selvage and also inscriptions which are part of an inscribed benediction that is repeated along the length of the textile. The fringed ends and narrow horizontal decorative bands, plus their overall scale, indicate that these fragments are part of a shawl.
The inscription reads, upper line: "[In the name of] God the Merciful, the Compassionate. The sovereign Lord, the clear Truth. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. May the blessings of God be upon [the Prophet Muhammad]" The lower line reads: "May the blessings of God be upon [the Prophet Muhammad]." The generic nature of the inscription suggests that this shawl was created for the open market and not for a caliph or his court. Furthermore, the inscription does not start at the beginning, but apruptly in the middle of the Basmala, deemphasizing the literary and spiritual value of this phrase.
AImee Froom in [Walker et al. 1994]
Inscription: Arabic inscription in kufic script: [In the name of] God the Merciful, the Compassionate. The sovereign Lord, the clear Truth. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. May the blessings of God be upon [the Prophet Muhammad] Lower line: May the blessings of God be upon [the Prophet Muhammad]
Translation from Walker and Froom 1992 (see References)
George D. Pratt, New York (until 1929; gifted to MMA)
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops," December 15, 1992–March 14, 1993, no. 13.
Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 114.
Kendrick, A. F., ed. Muhammadan Textiles. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924. Pl. IV, no. 868 (similar fragment).
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. 13, p. 24.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 114, pp. 272–73, ill. (b/w).
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