THOMAS CAMPBELL: These textile fragments were part of elaborate robes. The inscriptions on them were considered the most important, and beautiful, part. Most of these so-called ‘tiraz’ textiles date from the early centuries of Islam under the Abbasid Dynasty.

WALTER DENNY: From earliest Islamic times, royal courts operated special fabrication, factories you might call them… known collectively under the name of "tiraz," an Arabic word that simply means a private manufactory for luxury goods. These factories were mainly interested in weaving the beautiful robes, which were a common form of gift… among nobles and sovereigns in those days… The wearing of these robes, many of which had inscriptions on them listing the place and time of their manufacture, and occasionally even the Islamic ruler under which they were made, was a very important activity of royal courts. And the giving of these gifts was a very important royal custom. The giving of costumes was practiced throughout Islamic history, and indeed goes back before Islam in the Middle East, and was a royal custom even in Europe. However, the institution of tiraz themselves – that is, weaving ateliers directly under court control, which produced objects which had inscriptions on them directly relating to the patron and time of weaving – this tends to be much more of a typical Islamic institution.

THOMAS CAMPBELL: To hear more about the inscriptions on tiraz, press PLAY.