TURKEY, 18TH CENTURY

Details

AN OTTOMAN PAINTED PANEL
TURKEY, 18TH CENTURY
Oil and gold on cloth, laid down on wood, of rectangular form with central garland medallion around a roundel with 12ll. of black naskh, surrounding this four roundels with the names of Uthman, 'Ali, Abu Bakr and 'Umar in gold on red ground, the left a jar-shaped medallion of mirrored calligraphy, to the right a tughra above two footprints, all the decoration on a ground of honeycomb lattice, each hexagon with red and white flowerhead on dark green ground, some damages and splitting of the wood, some restoration, re-varnished
25 7/8 x 55½in. (65.6 x 141cm.)

Special notice

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Lot Essay

The text here is the hilyeh of the Prophet in the centre with the names of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs around it. In the vase is the bismallah and the tughra reads 'Muhammad Shafi'i, God's Mercy be upon him'. The name Muhammad Shafi'i and the fact that from his epithet it is clear that he is dead, may indicate that this panel comes from a madrasa of the teachings of the famous Imam Shafi'i (d. AH 204/819-20 AD).

Annemarie Schimmel has suggested that the image of feet, as depicted here, are effigies of the Prophet's sandals (ni'al-i sharif), especially valued because the Prophet touched them on the apex of the divine throne during his heavenly journey. They are often seen depicted in mosques and tombs (Toby Falk (ed.), Treasures of Islam, Geneva, 1985, p. 97).

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