AN OTTOMAN TALISMANIC CHART, 19TH-20TH CENTURY

Arabic manuscript on Cotton covered with text written in a variety of scripts and floral designs, to the centre two opening folios of the Quran written in muhaqqah and naskh script with gold rosette verse markers. Flanked on both sides with two roundels enclosing surah al-Fath and surah al-Ikhlas, all surrounded by a Dua'a in Kufic script. The outer border embellished with Ayat al-Kursi written in large black thuluth script reserved in clouds on a cream ground. Whether hung on a wall or carried on the body, talismans such as this large-scale chart covered with various designs and inscriptions were believed to help secure blessings (baraka) and provide protection for individuals and places.