Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans

A catalogue of seals and talismans housed at the Ashmolean from the 8th to 19th century Islamic world, by Ludvik Kalus (published Oxford, 1986).

Islamic Seals and Talismans by Ludvik Kalus

Publications online: 237 objects

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Rectangular bezel seal with kufic inscription

  • loan

Glossary

kufic

  • kufic

    A term denoting various styles of angular Arabic script. Emerged in the early centuries of Islam, kufic soon became the preferred hand to copy holy texts.

Location

    • currently in research collection

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Publications online

  • Islamic Seals and Talismans by Ludvik Kalus

    Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans

    Cornelian; bezel, double bevel; rectangular. Three lines of kufic script, without dots. Reading uncertain, especially for the word in the third line. This could perhaps be read as ibn, and in this case the whole can be read as:

    (1-3) Muḥammad b. Nāle [? Bāle] (2) محمد
    (3) بن
    (1) [ناله [باله؟

    But the word in the first line seems to be more probably bi-llāh, in which case I do not see any reading for the third line. It could be a misscript for yathiqu perhaps.
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