AN OTTOMAN EMBROIDERED SILVER-THREAD TEXTILE, COVER FOR MAQA...

Hammer

£14,000

AN OTTOMAN EMBROIDERED SILVER-THREAD TEXTILE, COVER FOR MAQAM IBRAHIM (PROPHET IBRAHIM), EGYPT, CAIRO, 19TH CENTURY

Of square form, drapery from the Kaaba for Maqam Ibrahim or for Bab-al-Tawbah, black silk lampas embroidered with silver threads, gold and silver view over padding, applied with pieces of yellow and red silk, some discolouration due to age, framed. This piece is embroidered on a section of the kiswah of the Ka‘bah. Qur’an ll, Sura al- Baqara part of v.125 ‘Basmala’ ‘Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer;’

Dimensions
100 x 91cm, with frame 109 x 98.5cm

Literature
Khalili collection art of hajj; According to one tradition it appeared when Ibrahim stood on the stone while building the Kaaba; when the walls became too high, Ibrahim stood on the maqām, which miraculously rose up to let him continue building and also miraculously went down in order to allow Ismail to hand him stones.[3] Other traditions held that the footprint appeared when the wife of Ismail washed Ibrahim's head, or alternatively when Ibrahim stood atop it in order to summon the people to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.[ The stone inside the casing is square shaped and measures 40 cm (16 in) in length and width, and 20 cm (7.9 in) in height.It used to be enclosed by a structure called the Maqsurat Ibrahim which was covered by a sitara: an ornamental, at Ottoman embroidered curtain that was replaced annually from 1517 until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Currently it is placed inside a golden-metal enclosure. The outer casing has changed a number of times over the years; historic photographs show that the arch of the Banu Shaybah Gate stood next to it.source wikipedia Another similiar complete textile sold at Christies 12 October 1999 lot21 https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-1546455