A CALLIGRAPHIC TIRAZ TEXTILE FRAGMENT WITH THE BISMILLAH
Fatimid Egypt, 10th century

Of elongated rectangular shape, the panel of plain weave undyed linen woven in madder red silk, featuring a single line of Arabic Kufic script with the bismillah, the Holy Qur'ans opening phrase, some of the left sewn edge present, laid on board, set in a glass clip frame, the panel 8cm x 33cm, 28cm x 35.5cm including the frame.

The present lot showcases a number of striking similarities with another tiraz textile panel featuring the bismillah dated 365 AH (975 AD) and attributed to Fatimid Egypt, currently in the collection of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Qatar, inv. no. QM.2016.1565, illustrated in Julia Gonnella, Museum of Islamic Art: The Collection, 2022, pp. 194 - 195, cat. 5.10. Both panels are made of the same, typical plain weave undyed linen woven in a dark red silk tapestry; the analogous calligraphic style - a cross between regular and square Kufic - points towards the early production period of Fatimid Egypt, when the focus is on the meaning of the words rather than their aesthetic quality. Unlike our lot, the MIA example is dated and inscribed with the name of the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz (r. 953 - 975 AD), providing a good example of an official inscription. Indeed, inscribing the name of the ruling caliph was a monitored extension of the caliphal status, and not every panel would have earned it. Nevertheless, considering that what is actually left of our example is only half (33cm) of the MIA tiraz (77.5cm), one can't help thinking about what kind of information was concealed in the now-missing inscription, given the remarkable analogies in terms of material, size, and overall compositions of both bands.