A Technical Study of a 17th-Century Manuscript of Muḥammad Bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 342-371
Author(s):  
Yana van Dyke
Keyword(s):  
17Th Century ◽  
Condition Assessment ◽  
Chemical Compositions ◽  
Metropolitan Museum ◽  
Islamic Art ◽  
Pigment Identification ◽  
Text Block ◽  
Metropolitan Museum Of Art ◽  
Islamic Prayer ◽  
Technical Study

Abstract In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), acquired an Islamic prayer book, the Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt by Muḥammad bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī. This paper discusses the findings of a technical study undertaken in the museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper, focusing on the materials and techniques of one manuscript acquisition specifically, MMA 2017.301. The nature, properties, and characteristics of the text block paper, fiber and pigment identification, chemical compositions, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms within the palette are described. The colophon at the end of the manuscript mentions a patron, Sīdī Aḥmad b. Dirham al-Mālikī and identifies its calligrapher as Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān al-Riyāḥī and confirms its creation date as AH 1035/1625–1626 AD.1

Reframing Islamic Art for the 21st Century

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Bier
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Metropolitan Museum ◽  
Islamic Art ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Metropolitan Museum Of Art

<p>The celebrated Islamic galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York reopened in 2011 as “Galleries for the Art of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia.” Other major collections of Islamic art have been reorganized and reinstalled in Berlin, Cairo, Cleveland, Copenhagen, Detroit, Kuwait, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Singapore, and new museums of Islamic art have been established in Doha, Qatar; Honolulu, Hawaii; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Sharjah, U.A.E. In addition, the first museum in North America dedicated to Islamic art recently opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This article explores this global phenomenon, identifying it as both a literal and conceptual “reframing of Islamic art for the 21st century,” setting the world stage for new developments in cultural understanding.</p><p><em><strong>Keywords:</strong></em> Islamic art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Art of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia”</p>

Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artibus Asiae ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 37 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Yolande Crowe ◽  
Richard Ettinghausen
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Museum ◽  
Islamic Art ◽  
Metropolitan Museum Of Art

scholarly journals A Saber of the Kazakh Vali Khan from the Collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Leonid A. Bobrov ◽  
Vasily R. Novoselov
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The State ◽  
Metropolitan Museum ◽  
Metal Elements ◽  
Metropolitan Museum Of Art ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Scientific Value

Purpose. We describe a saber from the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums (Inventory no. 4427). Results. The total length of the saber is 101.5 cm including the length of the blade 87.5 cm. When in the scabbard, the length is 106.5 cm. The grip and metal elements of the scabbard are made of gilded silver. Their surface is decorated with floral engraving. Mounts and big bezels contain pieces of turquoise and jade. The grip is inlaid with jade plates, gold and mounted rubies. We analyzed the construction and decoration of the saber and the scabbard and concluded that they were made by Ottoman masters in the first half of the 17th century. The closest analogues of the saber are stored in the Moscow Kremlin Armory, the State Hermitage Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc. According to the inscription on the blade, we refer the weapon to the type of insignia, which were given to Kazakh rulers who became Russian citizens and were approved as khans. A common historiographical attribution of the saber as belonging to Erali Khan (1729) has been proved wrong. According to the documents of the 18th century available, the saber initially was to be given to a famous Kazakh khan of the Middle jüz of Kazakhstan Ablai Khan (1711–1780). In 1778, the blade of the 17th century was signed in Russian and Arab, the scabbard was covered with red tissue, the gilded elements were freshened up, and a shoulder harness made of silk of two colors was added, together with a case. In the second half of 1778, the saber was delivered to the Peter and Paul Fortress of the Novyi Ishim defense line, where it was to be handed to Ablai Khan. However, due to some political disagreements he refused to accept the signs of the power, and the saber, along with other gifts, was left to be stored in the fortress. In May 1781, Ablai’s son, a newly elected Vali Khan (1744–1821), addressed Russian authorities asking them to pass him the signs of the khan’s power and Ablai’s allowance. As the insignia was to be given to the new owner, the inscription had to be changed. The saber was sent to Orenburg, where a local master changed the khan’s name and the year. During an official ceremony in the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was held on 1 November, 1782, the weapon was awarded to Vali Khan. Later on, the saber was passed on and stored by some families of noble Kazakhs. Conclusion. The saber is of a high scientific value as it is the only surviving and almost undamaged symbol of Kazakh khans’ power. It is a unique relic of Russian-Kazakh relations in the 18th century.

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