Part of a two-page illuminated incipit for Ṣūrah Maryam from a 15th c. Qur'an produced somewhere in Northern India and which incorporates elements typical of both the wider Persianate as well as the regional Bihari style of script and ornamentation (Walters Ms. W.563): the marginalia consists of Arabic glosses on variant readings, written in alternating colors typical of Bihari production:

I don't know why, but the V&A's Salting Carpet, and stylistically related carpets now scattered around the world, had evaded my notice until this week. Which is a shame because this carpet (V&A T.402-1910) and its cousins, made in late 16th c. Safavid Iran, are simply incredible: While their exact origins remain a bit of a mystery, this carpet and its kin were probably made in the second half of the 16th c. in Safavid workshops then sent as gifts to the Ottoman court, and were stored in the Topkapı, where some still reside. C. 1878 some went on the market

28.10.1915. "Have a pleasant time. Today there was no artillery fire. Towards evening, a hoca from Istanbul delivers a sermon to our troops. It is stirring and appropriate. During the gathering, one of our men is slightly wounded on the forehead by a stray bullet..." 1/13 During part of his time in the frontlines of the long grueling Battle of Çanakkale (Gallipoli as it's known in the Anglophone world) Lt. Mehmed Fasih of the 47th Regiment of the Ottoman 6th Army Corps kept a meticulous diary, recording everything from casualties to coffee 2/13

Islamicate Architecture Tuesday returns with a look into one of the best known architectural and artistic components of the Islamicate world, muqarnas (a word of uncertain etymology), in its origin an exquisite elaboration on the squinch. I'll treat mostly early examples 1/9 The above image ((V&A2840-1930) is of the interior of the Turba Sitta Zubayda in Baghdad, built in 1193, showing the geometric intricacy and mesmerizing effect of the technique; here is the exterior view of the steeply rising muqarnas dome (V&A 2838-1930), both images c. 1925 2/9

Probably the best Islamicate dragon of which I know, just an incredible, colorful, lithe beast: excerpt from a folio of the Hamzanama produced in Akbar's atelier over the second half of the 16th century (whole folio below), painted prob. by Dasavanta and Tara (MAK B.I. 8770/15): the whole folio, featuring the hero 'Umar fighting the dragon with naphtha, the battle taking place in what looks like some kind of industrial wasteland: