Browse Items (144 total)

This fifteenth-century copy of an important textbook in Islamic law is intricately annotated with the notes of a legal expert (Arabic faqih) in Egypt who was using the book as a teaching tool. The notes are largely case studies and problems in law,…

The lacquered cover of this Shahnameh manuscript showcases a dense pattern of grape-bearing vine scrolls, which continued to be an influential motif over the following centuries. This handwritten manuscript contains the Shahnameh (literally, "Book of…

The oblong pages of this palm-leaf style (pothi) book are covered with Sanskrit phrases (mantra) to treat illness, prevent disaster, and grant wellbeing. The five protective goddesses pictured here embody the five Buddhist mantra collections that…

This Buddhist prayer sheet is a rare survivor among hundreds of identical prints featuring Avalokite?vara, a form of the Boddhisatva of compassion, and was produced in 947 to celebrate the annual Ghost Festival. In the early 11th century, this print…

The prayer book "Waymarks of Benefits" (Dala"il al-Khayrat), originally composed in fifteenth-century Morocco, was frequently copied from Senegal to Turkestan, at the western and eastern extremes of the Islamic world. It was the most popular…

This is an extremely rare example of a complete medieval woven silk robe. Luxurious robes were highly valued in trade and often presented as diplomatic gifts, but due to the fragility of textiles, most of what survives is fragmentary. The exchange of…

"The subject of this single-page drawing has been most often described as a learned man, but he also possesses qualities that may indicate he is a dignified Sufi. However, he wears rings on both little fingers, which might not reflect the modesty of…