Tiraz Textile Fragment

dated 320 AH/932–33 CE

Not on view

Inscribed textiles are called tiraz, from the Persian word for "embroidery." Many were produced in royal workshops and presented by rulers to honor courtiers and officials at formal ceremonies. They bear inscriptions naming and blessing the current ruler or caliph – a reminder to the recipient that they owed their allegiance to that ruler. This textile’s embroidered inscription reads, "…Allah. Ja’far, the Imam (al-Maktadir billah, Commander of the faithful) May Allah prolong his days… Of what was made in the factory in the year three hundred and twenty (A.D. 932–33)" A smaller embroidered inscription reads, " 'Abdallah".

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Tiraz Textile Fragment
Date: dated 320 AH/932–33 CE
Geography: Attributed to Iraq
Medium: Linen; plain weave, embroidered in silk
Dimensions: Textile a: L. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
W. 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm)
Textile b: H. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
D. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
Mount: H. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm)
W. 17 3/4 in. (45.1 cm)
D. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
Credit Line: Gift of George D. Pratt, 1931
Object Number: 31.106.55b
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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