Rugs are a significant part of Muslim culture. Used for prayer, ornamentation & decoration, they are often collected as family heirlooms, & passed down from generation to generation.
For Ramadan, here are 24 Islamic rugs in museums & collections across the world…
A thread…
1/ Prayer Rug
1570s-1590s, Safavid
Iran
Most of these preserved rugs were intended as diplomatic gifts from the Safavid court to the Ottomans. The poetic inscription on the border is in nasta`liq script, in Persian verse & includes the name of Sultan Murad #Ramadan
2/ Prayer Rug
18th century
Kula, Manisa province, Anatolia, Turkey, Asia
Prayer rugs often feature a mihrab, or arched niche. This carpet is distinctive for its pairs of slender columns, a characteristic of Nasrid architecture from Muslim Spain #Ramadan
The Ottoman workshops produced a great variety of carpet designs that usually employed a group of familiar elements, consisting of naturalistic flowers, lotuses, and palmettes, often combined with arabesques #Ramadan
This rug belongs to the group of prayer rugs from Ghiordes, a village between Izmir and Ushak, where most of the Anatolian prayer rugs were manufactured in the 18th–19th centuries #Ramadan
Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities
5/ Prayer Rug
late 16th or early 17th century
Istanbul, Turkey, or Ottoman Cairo, Egypt
With a central niche is in the form of a mihrab, with decorative side-columns & a hanging mosque lamp & was hung on a wall, to serve as a mihrab for communal prayers #Ramadan
During their daily prayers, Muslims traditionally roll out small rugs to cover the ground, creating a ritually clean space for their devotions. Made using traditional techniques: knotted pile; symmetrical knot #Ramadan
Prayer carpet, Indian or Mughal, in so-called Millefleurs design; a vase with a single stem bearing multiple blossoms between two cypress trees #RamadanMubarak
8/ Prayer Rug
late 18th–early 19th century
Mudjar, Anatolia, Turkey
Includes a less common depiction of stylized water pitchers in the green areas above the arch which may refer to ritual ablution, which is required of Muslims before performing prayer #Ramadan
For believers in Islam, a rug is more than just a mat for praying; the rug’s design incorporates important Islamic symbols. This rug features the mihrab and depicts the gardens of paradise #Ramadan
This weaving is part of a group that uses the most popular motif of the emperor Shah Jahan’s reign: the single flowering plant, in this case a poppy, set within a niche #Ramadan
11/ Prayer Rug
late 18th–early 19th century
Gördes, Anatolia, Turkey
Traditionally prayer rugs feature an arched niche representing the mihrab of the mosque. This architectural element orients worshippers towards the holy city of Mecca during prayer #Ramadan
This Ottoman rug depicts a floral pattern. While the central arch has no columns to reflect the prayer niche, the arrangement of the blossom pattern is a kind of floral translation of the architecture #Ramadan
A silk kasha’s rug. The elegant niche suggests that this was a prayer rug, to be hung on a wall in the direction of Mecca, however, and not spread on the ground #Ramadan
Identified by its central niche design, the Qur’anic inscriptions in its border & names of God in its spandrels, relates to a group of rugs which were a diplomatic gift from Safavid Shah ‘Abbas I to Ottoman sultan Murad III #Ramadan
In rugs woven with the tree of life or with flowering vases the architectural nature of the mihrab is sometimes emphasized by thin columns flanking the central motif, as it is in the present lot #Ramadan
Woollen-pile prayer rug with floral & geometrical pattern, with fringed ends. Prayer rugs are small carpets, spread out for prayers. It’s size determined by practical necessity, calculated for a kneeling, prostrate figure #Ramadan
Niches with such elaborate floral decoration appear in Ottoman art soon after 1550, as on tilework in the mosque of Rüstem Pasha (d 1561) in Istanbul #Ramadan
Technically, the Ottoman carpets are similar to those of the Mamluk and Safavid empires, since they feature asymmetrical knots allowing a nuanced design #Ramadan
Prayer mats were produced both in large palace workshops from the patterns of decorative artists and in rural houses. It always contained one detail that was compulsory: an arch was depicted – the mihrab niche #Ramadan
21/ Prayer Rug
16th century
Turkey, Istanbul, or Bursa
Represents a crowning achievement of Ottoman court manufacturing in the 16th century. Besides Istanbul as the place of manufacture, the silk city of Bursa remains an option for its origin #Ramadan
MAK Museum of Applied Arts
22/ Prayer Rug
Early to mid-1800s
Western Turkey
Most prayer rugs were made locally, their materials, weaving techniques, patterns & colors vary from region to region. This rug from the Kula area of Western Turkey, has geometric motifs & a soft palette #Ramadan
Silk prayer rug with prayer arch, covered with thin tendrils bearing polychrome, small palmettes & flowers interlaced with a pattern of arabesques & curving tendrils in flat weave for a sculptured effect #Ramadan
24/ Prayer Rug
mid-16th century
Central Persia, Iran
This Safavid rug features Qur’anic verses in nasta’liq and thulth script. From surah al-Baqarah, surah al-Isra and surah Ibrahim.
Invocations to God, calling Him by 36 of His attributes #Ramadan
The art of Henna has been practiced in South Asia, Africa & the Middle East for over 5000 years. The botanical name of the henna plant is Lawsonia inermis. A member of the Loosestrife family, henna originally comes from Egypt.
A thread on the art of henna in Muslim cultures...
1/ The English name henna comes from the Arabic term الحناء (al-ḥinnā). The name henna also refers to the dye prepared from the henna plant and the art of temporary tattooing from those dyes. Henna has been used for centuries to dye skin, hair & fingernails as well as fabrics
2/ Modern scientists discovered that henna is antibacterial, antifungal, & anti-hemorrhagic & it has historically been used for medicinal purposes. However, although the use of henna has branched out since its discovery in North Africa its most popular use is still beautification
Ismail al-Jazari, a Muslim inventor from the 12th century is known as the "father of robotics" due to his groundbreaking work in the field of automata, which are self-operating machines.
A thread on Ismail al-Jazari, engineering & robotics…
1/ While robotics is considered a relatively new field of science, with the public’s consensus that it is the creation of 20th-century scientists, it would be surprising to know that the field has its roots in the medieval era nearly a millennium ago, with Ismail Al Jazari
2/ Ismail Al Jazari gained fame for his extraordinary inventions, encompassing a wide spectrum of marvels. His repertoire included robots programmed to provide guests with towels, programmable on-off switches for fountains, automated mechanical clocks & much more!
A Candle Clock from a copy of al-Jazaris treatise on automata
Spain is renowned for its Islamic heritage. A legacy left after the Islamic Empire ruled & conquered the Iberian peninsula in 711. By 732, Al-Andalus was established, leaving behind Europe’s finest Islamic art collection.
A thread on Islamic architecture in Spain, reimagined…
1/ In Spain, Islamic architecture is part of a larger movement that flourished in the Western Mediterranean area, leaving architectural marvels in modern Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria.
Art @@EduArtGranada
@EduArtGranada 2/ Architecture and art are inextricably linked in Islamic culture. Islamic art showed the status of the caliph, and huge sums were spent on its production. This is evident in Andalusia.
Muslims believe Bayt al-Ma’mur is an exact replica of the Holy Kaaba outside the realms of human existence. It is located directly above the Kaaba in the 7th heaven.
Like humans, Angels perform Tawaaf around Bayt al-Ma’mur A thread…
1/ Bayt al-Ma’mur, also called the “Frequent House,” is an exact replica of the Kaaba outside the realms of human existence. It is located directly above the Kaaba in the seventh heaven. Directly above the Bayt al-Ma’mur is the throne of Allah (swt).
2/ 70,000 Angels visit Bayt al-Ma’mur to worship & pray every single day, who never return. Bayt al-Ma’mur is welcomed by a new legion of 70,000 Angels everyday, which puts into perspective the massive number of the Angelic population that exists compared to humans on earth.
A desert oasis in the Middle East, the architecture of Oman is suited to its different terrain, ranging from mountain houses to desert tents, coastal forts & mud houses. More than just practical, the architecture gives insight into Omani culture
A thread on the beauty of Oman…
1/ Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman is modern Islamic architecture at its finest. The Mosque is hewn out of Indian sandstone and shows an elegant design backed by minimalism
2/ Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman, is a real feast for the senses with archways, courtyards and mosaics with Persian designs, as well as white marble floors and ornate doors that were inspired by designs from the city of Samarkand