Browse: 10610 objects
Oval bezel seal with kufic inscription and plait decoration
-
Details
- Associated place
-
Near East (probable place of creation)
- Date
- 10th - 13th century (AD 901 - 1300)
- Material and technique
- haematite, bevelled and incised
- Dimensions
- 1.4 x 1.6 x 0.25 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
- Technique index
-
cut,
- Object type index
-
tool/implement › matrix › seal,
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Presented by the Reverend Greville J. Chester, 1872.
- Accession no.
- EAX.3310
-
Further reading
Kalus, Ludvik, Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), no. 1.1.5 on p. 5, pl. I.1.1.5
Chester, Greville J., Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Parker, 1881), no. 1450 on p. 88
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
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
-
Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans
Haematite; bezel, bevelled towards the back; oval; front angle is very slightly rounded; the back side is a little damaged. Two lines of kufic script, in tête-bêche; without dots; separated by an ornamental motif.
(1) The tranquility of man راحة الانسان
(2) (lies in) the guarding of the tongue حفظ اللسان
The ornamental motif separating the two lines of the inscription is made up of two lines plaited together, bound by a series of simple loops; the ends of the lines separate outwards. The ensemble is close to the motif known as beads and reel.
This sentence is known to M. Reinaud, Monumens arabes, persans et turcs du cabinet de M. Le Duc de Blacas et d'autres cabinets, t. II, Paris, 1828, p. 261, n. 1.
© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum