Turban end with tiraz (983–990): Art, History and Details

Turban end with tiraz (983–990) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This finely woven linen cloth, dyed a cherished pistachio color, was cut from a longer fabric worn folded and wrapped as a turban with the silk tapestry-woven decoration shown off in the front. It contains two opposing rows of nearly identical Arabic text separated by a row of medallions displaying a pair of birds. The historical text begins by praising Allah, asking that he assist the Caliph al-‘Aziz and bless him and his ancestors. The inscription also specifies that the vizier Abu ibn Yusuf ordered the cloth from the private factory (tiraz) in Tinnis. This luxurious cloth could have been a gift from the caliph in Cairo during the Fatimid period to a courtier or visiting dignitary. It is one of the finest known examples.

Object facts

• Title: Turban end with tiraz
• Date: 983–990
• Culture: Egypt, Tinnis, Fatimid period, datable to 983-90
• Type: Textile
• Technique: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave: linen and silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 49.5 x 151.1 cm (19 1/2 x 59 1/2 in.); Mounted: 60.3 x 161.9 cm (23 3/4 x 63 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1950.354

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Wadsworth Atheneum, Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, and Charles Crehore Cunningham. 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition : Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952 ; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952. Hartford, Conn: Wardsworth Atheneum], 1951.
• Kühnel, Ernst. Four Remarkable Ṭirāz Textiles. [Locust Valley, N.J.]: [J.J. Augustin], 1952.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.