Mina’i ceramics were made in Iran during the 12th & 13th centuries. Mina’i ware scenes depict courtly pursuits such as feasting, fighting, or poetry & music performances.
Many Mina’i ceramics were taken & put in museums across the world.
A thread on Mina’i ceramics in museums…
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century Iran, Kashan
It can be imagined that the performer here, is delivering the verses inscribed along the rim of the bowl: "If the beloved leaves me, what am I to do? If s/he does not see the wisdom of our union, what am I to do?"
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq), Iran.
The ruler and courtiers depicted in this scene all wear costumes with embroidered tiraz armbands of the type traditionally given by Muslim rulers as honorific gifts to their subjects.
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq), Iran.
The central figure seen here is seated on a harnessed horse, possibly while on a hunt. The exterior of this footed bowl includes what is possibly a pseudo-inscription in the cursive naskhi style.
princely figures seated under a tree with birds & fishpond. Kufic inscription along the inside of the rim is based on the Arabic word, al-‘izz (glory) inscription on the outside is based on the word al-barr (piety)
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century (Seljuq), Iran
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player & Audience
Assembly with an audience of 10 people, or singers, surrounding the ’ud-player is depicted on this bowl. Bowls of fruit suggest the festive nature of the event
Decorated with an enthroned ruler flanked by two attendants; the inner walls are covered in a wide band of palmette scrolls. An inscription in kufic script borders the inside rim
Mina’i bowl, late 12th-early 13th century Iran, Seljuk
Depicting enthroned royal figure & four attendants with visitor in a garden with trees, birds and pond. Persian inscription painted below the figures with second inscription painted on the exterior rim.
In Islam, Hajj is the annual pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the ‘House of God’ in the city of Mecca. The Kaaba is covered in a Kiswah — a black silk cloth, exquisitely embroidered in gold
Every year, artisans work on creating a new Kiswah
A thread on the art of making the Kiswah
1/ The Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Kaaba. The term Kiswah means ‘robe’ & is also known as the ‘Ghilaf’. Hanging the Kiswah, a huge piece of black silk embroidered with gold patterns & verses from the Quran, over the Kaaba symbolises the start of the Hajj pilgrimage season
2/ Meaning cube in Arabic, the Kaaba is a square building unlike almost any other religious structure. It is fifteen meters tall and ten and a half meters on each side; its corners roughly align with the cardinal directions.
‘Traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller’
- Ibn Battuta
The most famous explorer in the Muslim World, Ibn Battuta, travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history - around 117,000 km!
A thread on the 14th century explorer Ibn Battuta…
1/ Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 CE in Tangier, Morocco. His travelogue the Rihla is his most important work. His journeys in the Rihla lasted for a period of almost thirty years, covering nearly the whole of the known Islamic world & beyond.
2/ Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, surpassing Zheng He with 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km. His total distance travelled was approximately 117,000 km (73,000 mi) (15,000 mi).
The Qur’an was first revealed during the month of Ramadan. This blessed month is also known by Muslims as the month of Fasting
To celebrate the arrival of #Ramadan here are 24 beautiful Qur’anic manuscripts found in museum collections across the world #RamadanMubarak
A thread…
1/ Folio from a Manuscript of the Qur'an
Iran, Shiraz, 1550-1575
Ink, colors and gold on paper
@LACMA #Ramadan
@LACMA 2/ Double Folio from a Qur'an
c. 1330-1350, Central Asian or Turkish
Early Muslim settlers from central and western Asia carried Islamic book traditions into India, especially in the form of Qur'ans, such as the one from which these pages come
Shah-i-Zinda is one Samarkand’s most beloved sites, which contains some of the richest tile work in the world. The magnificent architecture draws inspiration from multiple periods & styles, taking you back through time & across cultures
A thread on the beauty of Shah-i-Zinda…
1/ The Shah-i-Zinda ensemble includes mausoleums, mosques & other ritual buildings of 11-15th & 19th centuries. The name Shah-i-Zinda (meaning The living king) is connected with the legend that Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH is buried here
📷 Ash Diler
2/ Shah-i-Zinda is a world-famous example of a continuously constructed historical site. Over 1,000 years ago, it was founded with a single religious monument. Between the 11th & 19th centuries, mosques & mausoleums were continuously added
From Spain to Azerbaijan, to Germany to Bosnia, Europe has some of the finest mosques.
The presence of Islam in Europe is not a new phenomenon, with Muslims residing in the continent as early as the 8th century.
Here are 24 mosques across Europe #JummahMubarak
A thread…
1/ Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque, Mostar, Bosnia
Dates back to 1617 & features numerous multicolored windows, a minaret with a lookout spot & a courtyard with several tombs. Although the original Ottoman mosque was heavily damaged during the attacks of the 1990s it has been restored
2/ The Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, England
This is the first purpose built mosque that was built in the UK.
It was built in 1889 by Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, an orientalist of Jewish descent from Hungary. Money was donated by Begum Shah Jahan, the Nawab Begum of Bhopal.
Welcome to Al-Mutanabbi Street the ‘Book Market of Baghdad’, where books remain in the street at night because Iraqis say:
“The reader does not steal and the thief does not read.”
A thread on the rich heritage of the historic book market on Al-Mutanabbi Street…
1/ Al-Mutanabbi Street is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, that dates back to the time of the Abbasids. Located near the old quarter of Baghdad, Al-Mutanabbi Street was Baghdad’s first book traders’ market.
2/ Al-Mutanabbi Street has been, since time immemorial, the historic heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community.