AN OTTOMAN SILK AND METAL-THREAD EMBROIDERED WALL HANGING, TURKEY, 19TH CENTURY

The black silk ground applied with red and green panels, embroidered with silver and silver-gilt metal threads, with a central mosque lamp containing mirrored calligraphy, framed within an archway with the name of Sultan Salim III.
280 by 130 cm.

Inscriptions
In the top cartouche: Quran, chapter XXXIII (al-Ahzab), verse 56.
In the next panel: A saying from the Prophet.
In the lamps: ‘O The Opener [of all doors]’
In the border cartouches: Quran, chapter II (Al-Baquara), verse 255.
In the tear-drop shape cartouche:
mawlana al-sultan salim khan ‘azza allah nasrahu fi sana 1209
‘Our Lord, the Sultan Salim Khan, may God glorify his victory, in the year 1209 (1794-5)’
In the lower cartouches:
‘amara bi-‘amal hadha al-sitara al-mubarak (sic)/mawlana al-sultan al-a’zam salim khan
‘Our Lord, the most great Sultan Salim Khan ordered the making of this blessed cover’
In the small roundels in the borders: The names, God, Muhammad and the four Orthodox Caliphs.