Two Ottoman Textile Panels

Ottoman Empire, 18th or 19th century
Silk embroidered with metal threads
18cm high, 18cm wide
Stock no.: A4630

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These two striking square pieces of Ottoman embroidery in heavily padded gold gilt thread on gold silk was most likely part of a pouch or purse, perhaps used during pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina. The high-quality design is ornamented with sequences, floral decorative elements in four corners, and Arabic inscriptions in the central medallion. The inscriptions express the Shahada ['The Testimony'] declaring belief in the oneness of God (tawhid) and the acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. The righthand fragment reads lā ʾilāha ʾillā llāh ['There is no god but Allah'] whilst the left fragment reads muḥammadun rasūlu llāh ['Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'] The embroidery throughout is in the dival style.¹

Similar embroidery is found on the cover of the Bayram Tahtı ['Festivity Throne'], used by the Ottoman sultans in the Topkapı Palace.²

[1] Sumru Belger Krodt. Flowers of Silk & Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery. Washington, D.C.: Merrell Publishers, 2000, p.42.
[2] See Cengiz Köseoğlu. Topkapı: The Treasury, translated and edited by J.M. Rogers. London: Thames and Hudson, 1987, p. 61, ill. 2.

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