Tile with the Great Mosque of Mecca
Date Added
21/07/2019
Content Type
Art And Craft
Category
Other
Link to Content
Subject Area
Architecture + Interior Design
Description
Date Created: 17th century (Ottoman)
Physical Dimensions: w35.8 x h62.4 x d3.5 cm
Type: tiles; plaques
Rights: Acquired by Henry Walters, 1897,
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Medium: fritware with underglaze painting
Provenance: Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1897 [mode of acquisition
unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Place of Origin: Iznik (in present-day Turkey)
Inscriptions: [Translation] From Qur'an 3: 96-97: The first House
established for the people was that at Bekka (Mecca), a place holy and a
guidance to all beings. Therein are clear signs- the station of Abraham, and
whosoever enters it is in security. It is the duty of all men towards God to
come to the House a pilgrim, if he is able to make his way there.
Exhibition History: The Divine Word and Sacred Sites of Islam. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1997; Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001; Maps: Finding Our Place in the World. The Field Museum, Chicago; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2007-2008
The three lines of Arabic writing in the upper part of this large,
ceramic wall tile are from the third chapter of the Qur'an, and exhort the
Muslim faithful to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. The rest of the tile is given
over to a bird's-eye representation of the Great Mosque in Mecca, with the
Ka'ba, Islam's holiest shrine, in the center surrounded by various other
structures, all identified in Arabic, and a rectangular portico around the
courtyard. Such tiles may have been created to remind Muslims of their
obligation to make the pilgrimage and to introduce potential hajji, or
pilgrims, to the places and practices they would encounter in Mecca. The
plaques also may have been intended for commemoration and contemplation
following a hajji's experience at the Ka'ba.
Files
Type of Work: Tile
Artist: Turkish artists