The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Inscribed Tombstone of Shaikh al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn al-Hasan (died 1110)

Inscribed Tombstone of Shaikh al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn al-Hasan (died 1110)

1110
limestone
Overall: 65 x 42.6 cm (25 9/16 x 16 3/4 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1950.9
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

More work by these two artisans, Ubaydallah Murra and Umar, survives than by any other single artisan working in Yazd during the 1100s. There are only three other collaborative efforts on twelfth-century mijrabs/tombstones of the Yazd area out of a total number of 18 signed pieces.

Description

Arabic calligraphy, the supreme art form in the Islamic world, enhances this tombstone. The elegant Arabic script embellished with leaf tendrils at the top of the tall letters is called floriated Kufic.

Verses about paradise from the holy Qur'an border the central arch-shaped niche that resembles a mosque's mihrab, located in the wall closest to the holy city of Mecca. The name of the deceased and the year of his death are recorded within the niche above the names of the carvers: "The work of Abaidallah Murra(?) and 'Umar(?)." The inscriptions from the Qur'an translate as follows:

Outer border (read from right to left):
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Every soul shall taste of death; and ye shall only receive your recompenses on the Day of Resurrection. And who so shall escape the fire, and be brought into Paradise, shall be happy. And the life [of this world is but a cheating fruition]" (3:185).

Inner border:
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. But as for those who say, 'Our Lord is God'; and who go straight to Him, the Angels shall descend to them and say 'Fear ye not, neither be ye grieved, but rejoice ye in the Paradise which ye have been [promised]'" (41:30).
  • ?-1950
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1950-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Milliken, William M. "Part II. Annual Report Issue for the Year 1950." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 38, no. 6 (1951): 151-82. Mentioned: p. 158 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 682 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 208 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 208 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 264 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1991. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 39
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 226
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 168-171; Reproduced: p. 169
  • Order & Rhythm: Carpets from the Islamic World. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (September 10-November 7, 1993).
    Islam and the Medieval West. University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (April 6-May 4, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Inscribed Tombstone of Shaikh al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn al-Hasan (died 1110)|url=false|author=|year=1110|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.9