Lot 202 AN OTTOMAN GREEN SILK KISWA TEXTILE FRAGMENT, TURKEY OR EGYPT, 20TH CENTURY

A refined fragment from the inner curtain (kiswa) that adorns the sacred interior walls of the Kaaba. Woven in cream-coloured silk against a rich green ground, the textile is composed of bands bearing three registers of finely drawn muhaqqaq script. The bands are interspersed with alternating lobed pendants and roundels, each containing further Qur’anic or devotional inscriptions, and are lined throughout. Inscriptions:

The largest band bears the Shahada (Kalimat al-Tawhid). Above: Qur’an, Surat al-Baqara, verse 114. Below: Qur’an, Surat Al ‘Imran, verse 96. In the lobed medallions, alternately: Ya Hannan, Ya Mannan — “O the Compassionate, O the Benefactor!” In the roundels, alternately: Dhu’l-Jalal wa’l-Ikram — “Possessor of Glory and Honour!”

Dimensions: 140 × 115 cm.