Publication Date
Around the year 886 / 1482
Publication Place
-
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Subject
Engraved brass.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 16.5 سم؛ الطول: 87 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
م/ ن/105-106
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;24;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Date
Around the year 886 / 1482
Notes
The piece is a copper band with biblical text engraved on it. This ribbon used to decorate the door of the Ashrafieh Madrasa, which was established by Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaytbay at the western wall of the Holy Mosque, next to Bab Al-Silsilah. The Ashrafieh Madrasa is considered one of the most important Mamluk schools in Jerusalem. It is also considered the third Islamic building in Jerusalem in terms of beauty, splendor, and good construction, after the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The tape shown here was removed from the door of the Ashrafieh Madrasa during its restoration in 1928, after it was severely damaged as a result of the earthquake that struck Jerusalem a year earlier. It appears that the door of the school has been damaged, and only its copper decorations remain. The inscriptional decoration fills the entire band, which consists of a medallion located at each end of it and an inscriptional band located between the two sachets. The two packages contain an inscription in rounded thalth script that reads: “Glory be to our master, Sultan Abu al-Nasr Qaitbay, glory be to his victory.” The main inscription on the strip is also written in rounded thalth script and reads, “Glory be to our Lord, the Sultan, the King, the World, the Just, King Al-Ashraf, Abu Al-Nasr Qaitbay.” The tape also contains another text that reads, “The Sultan of Islam and Muslims, the killer of infidels and polytheists, the honorable King Abu Al-Nasr Qaitbay, glory be to his victory.” In the middle of the tape, and within a second line, I wrote in calligraphy the noble verse: “The mosques of God are inhabited only by those who believe in God and the Last Day and establish prayer and pay zakat and fear no one but God. Perhaps those will be among those who are guided” (Surat Al-Tawbah, No. 9, Verse 18). The background of the writing strip contains interwoven floral decorations.
Sample Text
Nazmi Al-Ju'beh “Copper Ribbon” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;24;ar
