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Lot Essay
The inscription in the arch contains Qur'an LV (sura al-rahman), vv. 26-27: "26. Everyone that is thereon will pass away, 27. There remains but the countenance of thy Lord of Glory and Goodness."
The inscription in the cartouche below contains the shahada.
When sold in these Rooms in 1997 this was catalogued as Ottoman on the grounds of various decorative details. The form however of Ottoman cenotaphs almost invariably has a ridged top and the inscription on a larger vertical panel at one end. The central panel on the present stone alludes to an earlier original ridged form, but it has been reduced to a symbolic element incorporated into a rectangular design. The form is clearly very close to that of Timurid cenotaphs of the 15th century, but they tend to be executed in grey schist rather than the marble seen here. The form also spread to India where it found popularity under the Mughals. A complete white marble cenotaph with similar top and comparable dimensions was sold in these Rooms 11 April 2000, and is now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar. That was attributed to a 16th century Deccani origin.
The inscription in the cartouche below contains the shahada.
When sold in these Rooms in 1997 this was catalogued as Ottoman on the grounds of various decorative details. The form however of Ottoman cenotaphs almost invariably has a ridged top and the inscription on a larger vertical panel at one end. The central panel on the present stone alludes to an earlier original ridged form, but it has been reduced to a symbolic element incorporated into a rectangular design. The form is clearly very close to that of Timurid cenotaphs of the 15th century, but they tend to be executed in grey schist rather than the marble seen here. The form also spread to India where it found popularity under the Mughals. A complete white marble cenotaph with similar top and comparable dimensions was sold in these Rooms 11 April 2000, and is now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar. That was attributed to a 16th century Deccani origin.