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A LARGE OTTOMAN TALISMANIC SHIRT (JAMA) WITH EXTRACTS FROM THE QUR'AN AND PRAYERS, TURKEY, 16TH/17TH CENTURY AND LATER |
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
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Description
- 108 by 123cm.
cotton shirt (jama) covered with text written in a variety of scripts, including thuluth, and square Kufic, in assorted colours, arranged in numerous panels, roundels, cartouches and lines, within bespoke perspex case
Condition
In good overall condition, the cotton ground mainly quite robust, wear and minor fraying to outer edges with associated consolidation, and stitches visible particulalrly at the intersection of the body and the sleeves including under the sleeves and sides. Light fading of colours due to rubbing and losses to inscriptions notably in borders and on left-hand side on neckline and at level of two upper roundels on the front of the shirt, further rubbing to lower part of shirt adjacent to seams. There appears to have been some bleeding from the purplish outline, some of the colours possibly touched up (green?) and showing on the inside, split to right-hand seam between the body and sleeve - needs rejoining, minor breaks along fold line on left-hand sleeve and several seams, probably cleaned in the past, please consult a professional restorer for further advice on the conservation of this piece, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
inscriptions
The inscriptions include quotations from the Qur'an,chapters II (al-baqara), part of verse 137; XLVIII (al-fath) verse 3; XVII (al-isra’), part of verse 79; XIII (al-ra’d), part of verse 28; III (al-‘imran), part of verse 160 and invocations to God in mirrored form and the Beautiful Names of God (asma’ al-husna) in individual roundels and squares. They are written in a variety of styles (including thuluth, naskh, angular Kufic (ma’qali)), and different forms: large (jali), small (khafi), minute (ghubar), mirrored (muthanna); reserved against black or minute (ghubar) text and in many colours and sizes. Those in angular Kufic (in squares, octagons, bands and in colours or reserved against black) contain: the shahada; the names God and Muhammad (4 times); the names Muhammad and the four Orthodox Caliphs; ‘Praise be to God’ (4 times); Qur’an, chapter II (al-baqara), verse 255; CVII-CXIV (al-ikhlas, al-falaq, al-nas) and II (al-baqara), verse 285.
This is an unusual and finely executed Qur'an jama. The basic layout related to other jamas of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a large number of panels and roundels containing Qur'anic quotations, pious phrases, prayers and talismanic numbers, but here their arrangement is unusually varied and inventive, with a number of distinctly Ottoman features such as the architectural references on the reverse of the jama with a large door flanked by Kufic cartouches on two sides and tilework above. What is also particularly noteworthy is the accomplished quality of the calligraphy, which is executed in a number of different scripts, and retains a confident aesthetic in even its most minute form. The amalgamation of all the decorative and calligraphic styles is a technique visible on other comparable talismanic shirts including the jama of Cem Sultan (TKS13/1404, see Roxburgh 2005, pp.300-1, no.257) and that of Mehmed II (TKS13/1408, published in Palace of Gold and Light, Treasures from the Topkapi, exhib. cat, Istanbul, 2000, pp.66-69, no.A7).
The present shirt and its decoration relate to a group of Ottoman shirts now housed in the Topkapi Palace Museum which all date from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. A similar talismanic shirt was sold in these rooms 25 April 2012, lot 419.
The inscriptions include quotations from the Qur'an,chapters II (al-baqara), part of verse 137; XLVIII (al-fath) verse 3; XVII (al-isra’), part of verse 79; XIII (al-ra’d), part of verse 28; III (al-‘imran), part of verse 160 and invocations to God in mirrored form and the Beautiful Names of God (asma’ al-husna) in individual roundels and squares. They are written in a variety of styles (including thuluth, naskh, angular Kufic (ma’qali)), and different forms: large (jali), small (khafi), minute (ghubar), mirrored (muthanna); reserved against black or minute (ghubar) text and in many colours and sizes. Those in angular Kufic (in squares, octagons, bands and in colours or reserved against black) contain: the shahada; the names God and Muhammad (4 times); the names Muhammad and the four Orthodox Caliphs; ‘Praise be to God’ (4 times); Qur’an, chapter II (al-baqara), verse 255; CVII-CXIV (al-ikhlas, al-falaq, al-nas) and II (al-baqara), verse 285.
This is an unusual and finely executed Qur'an jama. The basic layout related to other jamas of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a large number of panels and roundels containing Qur'anic quotations, pious phrases, prayers and talismanic numbers, but here their arrangement is unusually varied and inventive, with a number of distinctly Ottoman features such as the architectural references on the reverse of the jama with a large door flanked by Kufic cartouches on two sides and tilework above. What is also particularly noteworthy is the accomplished quality of the calligraphy, which is executed in a number of different scripts, and retains a confident aesthetic in even its most minute form. The amalgamation of all the decorative and calligraphic styles is a technique visible on other comparable talismanic shirts including the jama of Cem Sultan (TKS13/1404, see Roxburgh 2005, pp.300-1, no.257) and that of Mehmed II (TKS13/1408, published in Palace of Gold and Light, Treasures from the Topkapi, exhib. cat, Istanbul, 2000, pp.66-69, no.A7).
The present shirt and its decoration relate to a group of Ottoman shirts now housed in the Topkapi Palace Museum which all date from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. A similar talismanic shirt was sold in these rooms 25 April 2012, lot 419.