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
During the last 10 nights of Ramadan, many Muslims spend more time in Mosques in contemplation & prayer.
Mosque ceilings are designed to reflect the magnificence of the universe.
For Ramadan, here are spectacular details of 24 Mosque ceilings from around the world…
A thread…
1/ Jami Mosque, Andijan, Uzbekistan
The construction of the madrasah began in 1883 and lasted for 7 years. It has a gorgeous fretwork of wooden columns supporting a ceiling decorated with bright patterns made of a combination of geometrical ornaments & vegetal elements #Ramadan
Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. Built by the chief architect Mohammadreza Isfahani, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia. Beautiful interior dome details #Ramadan
The art of calligraphy on a dried leaf, was practised widely in Ottoman Turkey. This was difficult & delicate work. The leaf was dried, & the tissue removed to leave the skeletal membrane, with gold ink applied over it.
For Ramadan, here are 20 exquisite examples…
A thread…
1/ Calligraphy Leaf
Ottoman Turkey
19th century
Golden calligraphy on a tree leaf from the Ottoman Era
Many featured verses written from the Qu’ran, Hadith prayers and poetry.
Chestnut leaf inscribed with a Qur’anic verse from Surat al-Isra’ (“The Night Journey,” Q17:80), which reads: “And say, ‘Lord grant me a good entrance and a goodly exit, and sustain me with Your power.”
The Dala’il al-Khayrat is a collection of prayers & blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ composed by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli in the 15th century.
The book is also renowned for its beauty.
For Ramadan, here are 24 exquisite examples across the world
A thread…
1/ Dala’il al-Khayrat, Muharram 1233/AD November 1818, Kashmir
This manuscript has previously been identified as Ottoman, but it reflects the tradition of Dala’il al-Khayrats from Kashmir and general manuscript production from that region
The name of the scribe is Khan Yunus Khan Bahu. It includes two illustrations of Mecca and Medina, which are very fine and decorated with little details from local architecture, or works of art.
The colour blue (al-azraq) in Islamic tradition often signifies the impenetrable depths of the universe, and turquoise blue is thought to have mystical qualities.
For Ramadan, here are 24 beautiful Islamic buildings & mosques, designed using the colour blue…
A thread…
1/ Jalil Khayat Mosque, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq
The largest mosque in the city, it was begun by Jalil Khayat who died in 2005 & completed in 2007 by his sons in memory of their father. The blue style resembles the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in Cairo & Blue mosque in Istanbul #Ramadan
2/ Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Sohar, Oman
Inaugurated in 2018 & influenced by Persian & central Asian blue Islamic architectural styles with touches of traditional Omani architectural elements that make it unique #Ramadan
Islamic illumination is a decorative art, that uses gold pigments to beautify the Qur’an & manuscripts, creating a spiritual awe & connection
Today, the art of Islamic illumination continues
For #Ramadan here are 18 women artists specialising in Islamic illumination
A thread…
1/ Artist & illustrator @AyeshaGamiet is based in the South East of England. Her work is inspired by the traditional arts & the beauty of nature. She was awarded an ijaza in Islamic manuscript illumination under Master illuminators in Istanbul:
2/ Japanese artist Yukiko Futamura has a passion for Islamic art & illumination. She studied Western calligraphy & manuscript illumination under artist Miwako Kawaminami for nearly 2 decades. Her work is influenced by Islamic cultures: