A large metal-thread embroidered calligraphic silk panel from the burqa'

Egypt, late 19th Century

Footnotes

Provenance
Property from the private collection of Dr Mohammad Said Farsi and thence by descent to the present owner.
Christie's Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 11 October 2005, lot 25.

Inscriptions: Qur'an sura XXVII, al-naml, verse 30; and sura XVII, al-israa, verse 80.

The Ka'ba is decorated annually on the 9th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijah, the day during the Hajj on which the pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount Arafat. The four walls are covered with curtains (kiswah) and are encircled by a band (hizam) embroidered with text from the Qur'an. The present lot is part of one of these bands, and was more specifically a panel from the burqa', or the panel above the main door of the Ka'ba.

The practice of decorating the Ka'ba dates back to pre-Islamic times and the Prophet Muhammad himself witnessed the ceremony of the covering of the Ka'ba as a six-year-old child. Under the Mamluks, Egypt became the supplier of the kiswah, and it became traditional to change it annually. Production in Egypt continued under the Ottomans until 1927 when it was decided that the King of Saudi Arabia should provide the textiles, and production was moved to Arabia, where it continues today. When the kiswah and the hizam were replaced, they were cut up and reserved for important dignitaries such as the Sharif of Mecca, but some fragments were also allowed to be sold in special shops near the Bab al-Salam.

For related examples see Sotheby's Islamic Works of Art, 21 October 1993, lot 255 and Islamic Art, 16 October 1997, lot 108.

Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi was the Mayor and then Lord Mayor of Jeddah in the 1970s and 1980s, where he played a crucial role in transforming the city into one of the largest open-air galleries in the world by commissioning monumental sculptures by famous international and Middle Eastern artists, including Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Hans Arp, and Alexander Calder.