20th-century Central Asian robe displayed in the Aga Khan Museum (Toronto) in Hidden Stories: Books Along the Silk Roads exhibit (exhibited during 2021-2022). The felted robe features four embroidered stories ranging from different cultures, religions, and ages. The robe depicts scenes deriving from the Qur'an, the Shahnameh, the Khamsa of Nizami, Thousand and One Nights and sources of Greek and Persian poetry.
AKM PS24 Robe Embroidery of Vamiq and Azra
Photograph of AKM PS24 Robe, focusing on the back bottom-left panel of the robe, depicting a scene with Vamiq and Azra. A story deriving from the eleventh-century Iranian poet, Unṣurī in his work titled, "The Virgin and Her Lover". The story is an epic retelling of the Greek 1st century story of Parthenope and Metiochus. In this embroidery, Vamiq and Azra are seated on a carpet, facing one another, seemingly in conversation. The scene likely depicts their debate over "Eros" or the effigy of love, as found in both the Persian and Greek tellings of the story. The Farsi script above the embroidered characters is not legible but one decipherable word in the sentence appears to mention the word "agree" , perhaps referencing Vamiq and Azra's discussion of love and their potential agreement with their interpretations.
Solomon takes advice from the animals, from Lights of Canopus (Anvar-i-Suhayli)
Illuminated manuscript taken from the 13th century copy of the "Anvar-i Suhayli", (The Lights of Canopus). In this illustration, the wisdom of King Solomon is portrayed through his ability to converse with all mankind and creatures, including animals. Solomon's depiction of wisdom through the use of animals is a common storytelling tactic in Persian and Islamic depictions of the wise king. The following excerpt from the Chester Beatty Online Collection provides further detail for the depicted scene: "One day, he had the opportunity to drink the water of life, and to live forever. Hesitating, he decided first to take advice from the animals and birds. They all gathered at his court, and discussed the great decision. The heron advised the king not to choose immortality. There was only enough water for one person, the bird said, so if Solomon were to drink it, then he would outlive everyone he loved."
Manuscript of "Lights of Canopus" (Anvar-i-Suhayli); Agra, India
Chester Beatty Museum, Dublin (Online Collections)
Solomon Enthroned, from the Book of Solomon (Suleymannama)
Illuminated manuscript illustrating Solomon enthroned at the top centre of the illustration. The illustration of the wise and powerful king features him above horizantal rows of his subjects. Simillarly to the AKM PS24 robe, the character known in Islamic tellings as the "Jinn", or in Persian tellings as "Divs" (demon) are pictured on the second row from the bottom of the page, as large, horned creatures. In the Qur'an and the Shahnameh, King Solomon is titled as the "King of the Jinn", possessing the power to control and communicate with all creatures including the demons who he summons to do his work. The manuscript was dedicated to Ottoman Sultan Bayazid. Source: (https://viewer.cbl.ie/viewer/image/T_406_1/1/)
Manuscript author: Firdausi of Bursa. Artist is unknown.
Book of Solomon, Suleymannama (Istanbul, Turkey)
Persian and Arabic written in the Naskh script.
Harun al-Rashid, "In The Palace of the 'Abbasid Caliph"
Miniature painting taken from a Nigaristan manuscript (East Azerbaijan, province of Iran). The miniature features the grandeur of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid's palace. In the painting, his vizer is seated at the top of the room, receiving guests on behalf of the Caliph who is not pictured. In Thousand and One Nights, the Caliph is depicted as "The Well-Guided" whose rise to power and wise actions paint him as a strong, well-suited ruler for Baghdad. The Caliph is perhaps more well-known for his support of the arts, literature and science which led to his creation of the "House of Wisdom", the Grand Library of Baghdad. He is also known for his grand gift to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, to whom he sent an elephant to Europe as a gift for the European ruler.
Author: Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari of Kashan. Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi
Kitab-i Nigaristan, (Kashan, Iran, likely made in a Shiraz workshop)
miniature painting, folio from a manuscript
Persian, written in the Nastaliq script.
Portrait of a young man seated on a carpet, holding a dagger in one hand while preparing to smoke from a hookah. On top of the hookah is a container with tassels. (The British Museum)
"A member of the Iranian royal household wearing a brocade coat" (Allsen 1997, 119)
Allsen, Thomas T. 1997. Commodity and Exchange in the Mongol Empire : a Cultural History of Islamic Textiles / Thomas T. Allsen. Cambridge ;: Cambridge University Press
Persian Tunic displayed in The MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna) online collection. The item is a 17th-century silk-embrodered jacket made of cotton and linen from the Safavid dynasty in Iran. The item was originally featured in the museum's "Mohammedan Exhibition" in Munich in 1910. Reference: MAK Online Collection
The MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts) Online Collection
17th-century Safavid dynasty [1501-1736]
Quilt facing, or bedding, from the Ottoman empire embroidered with continuous patterns of the pomegranate motif. The pomegranates are faced with two large serrated leaves on either side of the fruit. This style of border is common among seventieth to eighteenth century Ottoman embroideries .
embroidered quilt facing; linen plain weave with silk embroidery.
The suzani, a weaving style practiced in both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is featured in Ura Tube style (Gillow 2010, 43).
Gillow, John. 2010. Textiles of the Islamic World. New York: Thames & Hudson.