Curtain (Sitarah) from the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina

Location: probably Istanbul

Materials: black silk, with coloured silk appliqués; embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire, over padding of cotton thread

Dimensions: 262 x 146cm

Accession Number: TXT 255

Other Notes:

The signature cartouche of Sultan Mahmud II appears at the top of the curtain, above the point of the arch. It reads, katabahu (‘written by’) al-Ghazi (‘The Warrior for the Faith’) Mahmud ibn ‘Abdulhamid Khan. His tughra, with his soubriquet ‘Adli (‘The Just’), appears at the lower end of the curtain.