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

Estimate

£20,000 - £30,000

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

Qur’an ll, Sura al- Baqara v.125

‘Bi-smi llahi rahmani rahimi’ ‘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;’ (Al-Baqarah : 125). 105 by 105 cm.

The Maqam Ibrahim (the Station of Abraham) as mentioned in the Qur’an, is taken to be the stone Abraham stood on whilst building the Ka‘bah. During the Ottoman period this stone was placed inside a four-sided structure, which was in turn covered by an embroidered textile, generally referred to as its kiswah. Its kiswah, like the Ka‘bah’s, had been supplied annually by Egypt since Mamluk times. It consisted of four panels, of which the present example is the last. They were embroidered with Qur’anic verses that read across from one to the other, in addition to the names of God, Muhammad, the four Orthodox caliphs, and the Prophet’s grandchildren, Hasan and Husayn. The verses, drawn from surahs al-Baqarah (II, verses 125, 127 and 260) and Al ‘Imran (III, verses 96–97), refer to the building of the Ka‘bah, to the Station of Abraham and to the duty men owe God in performing their Pilgrimage. This piece is embroidered on a section of the kiswah of the Ka‘bah.
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.[3] It used to be enclosed by a structure called the Maqsurat Ibrahim which was covered by a sitara: an ornamental, embroidered curtain that was replaced annually.[7] Currently[when?] 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.[8] wikipedia


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