Hanging

Location: Nasrid Spain,probably Granada

Materials: silk embroidery, braiding and cross-stitch on linen

Dimensions: 123.5 x 17cm

Accession Number: TXT 23

Other Notes:

The band is decorated with a series of octagons, filled with a lozenge enclosing a four-pointed star and separated by angular cartouches with an inscription, al-‘afiyah (‘good health’) in stylised Kufic. The panel at the top, which may have been sewn on later, bears a pseudo-inscription in naskh, some lines inverted and some the wrong way around. The addition of devices drawn from contemporary Qur’an illumination may suggest that its purpose was talismanic.

Bibliography:

J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.248, p.205.