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Oval cabochon seal with kufic inscription
- loan
-
Details
- Associated place
-
Near East (probable place of creation)
- Date
- 10th - 13th century (AD 901 - 1300)
- Material and technique
- amethyst, cut and incised
- Dimensions
- 1.15 x 1.25 x 0.65 cm (height x width x depth)
- Material index
- Technique index
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cut,
- Object type index
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tool/implement › matrix › seal,
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Lent by Queen's College, University of Oxford.
- Accession no.
- LI902.22
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Further reading
Kalus, Ludvik, Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), no. 2.1.3 on p. 14, pl. I.2.1.3
Glossary
kufic
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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
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- 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
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Catalogue of Islamic Seals and Talismans
Amethyst; cabochon, plain-convex; oval (almost circular); angle slightly cut. One line of kufic script, slightly rounded, with an error in the first word where the initial rā' is executed topsy-turvy.
My lord is God ربي الله
Beneath, cross similar to the cross 'potencé'.
On the basis of the shape of the gem and the text of the inscription, one could with reason classify this seal as of the classical period (I.1), but the script seems to be later.
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