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Lot Essay
The inscription begins with the bismillah and sura al-Ikhlas. It continues: "This is the tomb of Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad who died in the year AH 426/1034 AD.
The so-called pillar tombstones, rare in Egypt, are commonly found in North Africa and more particularly in Tunisia where they range in date between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This example is one of the earliest of this group of which the rather coarse-grained marble and the relief carved foliate kufic are characteristic. For further discussion, please see Zbiss, M. Z.: Inscriptions de Monastir, corpus des inscriptions arabes de Tunise, Tunis, 1960.
The so-called pillar tombstones, rare in Egypt, are commonly found in North Africa and more particularly in Tunisia where they range in date between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This example is one of the earliest of this group of which the rather coarse-grained marble and the relief carved foliate kufic are characteristic. For further discussion, please see Zbiss, M. Z.: Inscriptions de Monastir, corpus des inscriptions arabes de Tunise, Tunis, 1960.