More Islamic amulets

This is a brass amulet from Ghaznavid ruled Persia in the 10th century. The amulet is pierced and incised brass which is 2.4 cm in diametre. It is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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This amulet case is silver inlaid with black niello and made between the 10th-11th century in Samanid ruled Iran. The niello is in curlicue and kufic inscription. The inscription is a blessing for a man named Hasan ibn Ahmad, probably the owner of the case. It would have held a verse of the Qur’an. The size is 4.6 cm by 4.3 cm by 1.2 cm. The amulet is in the the David Collection.

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This amulet case is from the early 12th century Seljuk Empire. It is 3.4 cm wide, made of gold and decorated by repoussé with a kufic inscription. It was sold by Christies for £5,875 ($9,306).

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This case is also gold decorated by repoussé but from north-east Iran ruled the Ghurid Dynasty. It is 4.5 cm wide, with a kufic inscription al-mulk li’llah or ‘Sovreignty is God’s’. It was sold by Christies for £16,100 ($32,764).

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The cases would have held text from the Qur’an such as-
This scroll is from the 14th century to be kept in a case. It is 755 cm long and 10 cm wide. It contains 114 chapters of the Qur’an (or suras) as well as the 99 names of Allah. It is in the David Collection.

Recommended reading
Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Marilyn Jenkins & Manuel Keene. Via Google Books.

Please see the previous post Islamic amulets for more recommended reading.

Early period embroidered Egyptian textiles

This is a 6th century textile found in Egypt. It is a plain weave linen embroidered in a regular pattern. The textile is 10 cm by 8 cm. It is currently in the Metroplitan Museum of Art.

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This textile is also from the 6th century & Egypt. It is made from wool & plain woven linen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art says the textile is tapestry woven, but it does look like a style of pattern darning. It is 10.6 cm by 6 cm.

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This textile was made between the 6th-7th century. It is made of plain woven linen with wool embroidery and is 14.6 cm by 10 cm. Possibly in running and stem stitch. It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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This textile is from the 7th-9th century. It is a tapestry woven textile of linen and wool with embroidery. The back of the textile- The textile is 8.3 cm by 10.2 cm. It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A blackwork border

This is a piece of blackwork embroidery from Egypt or Arabia. Made between the 13th to 16th centuries, it is linen embroidered with red and blue silk. The size is 15 cm by 6 cm, with the fabric selvage visible at the top of the picture.

I have charted up the design-
mfaborderfragment (pdf)

The item is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Two Mamluk Egyptian bags

This is an embroidered drawstring bag from between the 13th-16th centuries. It is tabby woven linen embroidered with pink, green, blue, yellow and ochre silk in an eyelet (or possibly a double faggot) stitch. The size of the bag is 15.8 cm by 13.5 cm. It is in the Museum of Fine Arts.

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This is also a round embroidered bag made between the 13th & 16th century. It is tabby woven linen embroidered with blue and brown silk in chain and darning stitches (or possibly another type of stitch). This bag has a linen tassel attached with three knots at the end of the drawstring. The bag is in the Museum of Fine Arts.

Iranian and Afghani textiles

This textile is split stitched silk on plain weave, made in the 7th century in either Iran, Afghanistan or China. Detail of the boar’s head roundel- The textile is 56cm by 48cm. The textile has boars heads and peacocks embroidered on it. The textile is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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This textile is from the 14th century. It is cotton embroidered with birds, floral scrolls and calligraphy in brown thread. It has a height of 130cm and is 47cm wide at the waist. It is in the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah Museum, but the site doesn’t have much more information.

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This chemise is also 14th century, from Afghanistan. It is also plain weave cotton, embroidered in black cotton. The design of the embroidery are rosettes, with an indigo band around the neck. It was sold at Christies for £11,950 ($17,292).

NIU’s Middle Eastern Music Ensemble

Interested in studying Middle Eastern music? Northern Illinois University have a Middle Eastern Music Ensemble where theoretical, practical and historical aspects are studied. There are a few YouTube clips too- This is an Armenian song called the Candle Dance, a traditional folk song.

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This clip is a traditional Turkish folk song called Longa Sultani Yakah.

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This clip is of a modern song called Azizah composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab.

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This clip is of a group percussion solo, arranged by Omar Al Musfi.

Pattern darning chart

This textile is 9.7cm by 10.2cm. Made in Egypt between the 13th and 14th century, it is plain weave linen embroidered in red silk floss in running stitch and pattern darning. The textile is currently in the Art Institute of Chicago.

I have charted up the design and it is available for download in pdf format-

artinstitutepatterndarning (PDF)

Please let me know how it goes.

Technicalities- there are 66 threads between the top pattern darning and main pattern. The straight lines are the running stitch.