Panel from the Sitarah of the Door of the Ka‘bah

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Materials: black silk, embroidered with silver-gilt  wire over a padding of pasteboard and cotton thread

Dimensions: 233 x 85cm

Accession Number: TXT 39B

Other Notes:

This is the second of four main panels that form the sitarah (also known as the burqu‘), or the curtain covering the door of the Ka‘bah. It falls above the panel containing the opening for the door. Its position is reflected in the embroidered text from surah al-Fath (XLVIII), verse 27, ‘Truly did God fulfil the vision for His Messenger: Ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if God wills, with minds secure’. The text appears in the same position on sitarahs dating back to at least the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent.

Bibliography:

J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.403, p.339.