Artwork Page for Ikat tiraz

Details / Information for Ikat tiraz

Ikat tiraz

960–80
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Yemen, San'a', Zaydi Imam period

Medium
resist-dyed warp (ikat); plain weave with inscription: cotton and gold leaf
Measurements
Overall: 60.3 x 64.5 cm (23 3/4 x 25 3/8 in.); Mounted: 67.9 x 74.3 cm (26 3/4 x 29 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1950.353
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The "flame" pattern was dyed on the vertical warp threads before weaving began by tightly binding them to resist dye penetration, and repeated for each color. The process and fabric are called ikat, a Malaysian word which may have originated in South Arabia. Yemeni ikats with historical Arabic inscriptions from the 10th century are among the oldest known. This text, written in Kufic script with gold leaf outlined in black, identifies a ruler of the Yemen: ". . . [a]l-Da’i ila al-Haqq, Commander of the Believers, Yusuf b. Yahya b. al-Nasir li-Din Allah Ahmad, son of the apostle of God, may God bless the all." The Arabic phrase "to God" is inverted at the bottom.
A textile fragment features rows of blurred diamond shapes, alternating between beige and dark-blue. The cloth has significant chunks missing, specifically in rough edges cutting into the upper right corner. Every two blue diamonds a thin, vertical blue line cuts down the textile. A band of gold, black-outlined Kufic script runs across the center (see "Inscriptions"). A rectangular section of it continues on the lower left.

Ikat tiraz

960–80

Yemen, San'a', Zaydi Imam period

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