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Jun 20, 2007

Tomb Cover

1640–1950 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability)

Iraq or Iran, in the style of the Buyid period

(945–1055)

Compound tabby; silk

Overall: 210.2 x 102.5 cm (82 3/4 x 40 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1954.780

Location

not on view

Description

This complete loom piece was woven to cover a human corpse: at the top, a circle to cover the head; below, a long tapering shape for the body. The only decoration on the dark brown ground consists of Kufic inscriptions reserved in beige on bands. The text which was undoubtedly composed for the decoration of a funeral pall gives the name of the deceased in the circle around the top. Other inscriptions refer to the part of the body over which the decoration lies.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Maghfirah min al-Rahman al-Rahim lil-'abd al-'asi 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Shahrazad bin Rastawayh al-Isbahani

Inscription Translation

Forgiveness [be] from the Merciful, the Compassionate to the disobedient servant 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Shahrazad bin Rastawayh al-Isbaha-ni.

Inscription

Allahumma bayyid wajhi yawm taswaddu fihi al-wujuh wa-la'alla-ni [or la'alli] tujilluni yawm al-'ar

Inscription Translation

Oh God, whiten my face on the day when faces are blackened, and perhaps Thou wilt honor me on the day of dishonor.

Inscription

Allahumma thabbit qalbi 'alá dinaka bi-haqq Muhammad wa-alihi

Inscription Translation

Oh God, fix my heart firmly in Thy religion by virtue of Muhammad and his family.

Inscription

Allahumma inni awda'tuka bi-qalbi hadha al-iqrar bika wa-bi-al-nabi Muhammad sallá Allah 'alayhi wa-alihi wa-al-a'immah 'alayhim al-salam wa-anta khayr mustawda' tarid 'alá waqt su'al Munkir wa-Nakir bi-rahmatika ya arham al-rahimin

Inscription Translation

Oh God, I have deposited with Thee my heart. This is the recognition of Thee and of the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and his family) and the imams (upon them be peace). For Thou art the best repository; Thou arrivest, at the time of the questioning by Munkir and Nakir, with Thy mercy, Oh most Merciful of the Merciful.

Inscription

Allahumma a'tini kitabi bi-yamini wa-hasibni hisaban yasiran

Inscription Translation

Oh, God, give me my book in my right hand and give me an easy reckoning.

Inscription

Allahumma la tu'tini kitabi bi-shimali wa-la taj'alha maghlulah ilá 'unuqi

Inscription Translation

Oh God, do not give me my book in my left hand, and do not cause it to be chained around my neck.

Inscription

Allahumma thabbit qadami 'alá al-sirat

Inscription Translation

Oh God, fix my feet firmly on the road.

Inscription

yawm tazill fihi al-aqdam

Inscription Translation

on the day when feet slip on it.

Provenance

Originally reported as having been found in Bibi Shahr Banu, near Rayy, Iran

?-1954

(Adolph Loewi [1888-1977], Los Angeles, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1954-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 676 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. 215 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. 215 archive.org

Jones, Dalu and George Michell. The Arts of Islam: Hayward Gallery, 8 April-4 July 1976. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 7, p. 76

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 272 archive.org

Thomson, Nancy. The Heritage of Islam: Notes. London: PCET, 1982. Mentioned: no. 32, p. 50

Blair, Sheila S., Jonathan M. Bloom, and Anne E. Wardwell. "Reevaluating the Date of the "Buyid" Silks by Epigraphic and Radiocarbon Analysis." Ars Orientalis 22 (1992): 1-41. Reproduced: p. 35; Mentioned: p. 15 www.jstor.org

Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Reproduced: P. 154, fig. 4c; Mentioned: P. 154-155

Exhibition history

Sept mille ans d'art en Iran. Petit Palais, Paris, France (October 1-December 31, 1961).

The Arts of Islam. The Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, London, UK (April 8-July 4, 1976).

The Heritage of Islam. Houston, TX; Pittsburgh, PA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC (March 10, 1982-September 5, 1983).

The Exhibition of Persian Art: 7000 Years of Art in Iran. Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France (organizer) (October 19, 1961-January 31, 1962).

Arts of Islam. Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (April 8-July 4, 1976).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Tomb Cover|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1954.780|year=1640–1950 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability)|access-date=25 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Tomb Cover

Tomb Cover

Iraq or Iran, in the style of the Buyid period

Location

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Inscription

Inscription Translation

Inscription

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Inscription

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Inscription

Inscription Translation

Inscription

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Inscription

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