A LARGE TAPESTRY HANGING WITH SQUARE KUFIC CALLIGRAPHY
Possibly Turkey or Iran, 20th century

Of rectangular shape, the four sections of gros point needlework in black, cream, taupe, and teal blue wools with repeating Huwa (He, God) and La illah ila Allah (the start of the shahada - "There is no God but He") in knotted square Kufic lettering, heavily interlined, lined in cotton, 181.4cm x 185.5cm.

The square Kufic lettering on this tapestry is almost identical to a square Kufic glazed tile said to have come from the Royal Mosque (Masjid-e Shah) built by Shah Abbas I in Isfahan in the early 17th century, linking this composition to Iran as a possible site of production (please see the tile in Y. H. Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy, 1978, cat. 27, p. 49).

Dimensions: 181.4cm x 185.5cm