All Collections

Hajj and The Arts of Pilgrimage

(700-2000)

Hajj is a great gathering of human beings. Dressed in their white ritual garments, the pilgrims stand shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe, equal before God, regardless of sect, race, gender, wealth or rank: this is Islam at its most harmonious and pure.

Professor Sir Nasser D. Khalili

Two traditions determine the make-up of most private collections today. One is that of the connoisseur, who gathers together a few select items on the basis of their aesthetic merit. The other is the comprehensive approach, where the emphasis of the collector is on assembling complete series of objects. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Hajj and The Arts of pilgrimage is remarkable in that it combines both these traditions within an overall scheme.

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Sitarah for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 474
Cairo

A Short Note on the Design and Issue of Postage Stamps

ARC.pt 677
Cairo

La Marche de la Caravane du Grand Caire pour la Mecque

ARC.pt 171.2
printed in Rouen, France

Postcard of Haifa Station

ARC.pc 450
Turkey

Official Hijaz Railway Postcard

ARC.pc 433
Germany

Hilyah, with Four Certificates of Calligraphic Merit

CAL 479
Ottoman Turkey

Life-size Template for One Side of the Cover of Maqam Ibrahim

MSS 1128.2
Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Life-size Template for the Left Half of the Curtain of Maqsurat Ibrahim

MSS 1128.7
Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Life-size Template for the Curtain of the Bab al-Tawbah

MSS 1128.8
Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Hanging with a Depiction of the Ka‘bah

TXT 89
India

Curtain for Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 259
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Suleyman III (r. 1687–1691)

Curtain for Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 260
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Mahmud II

Section of the Belt of the Prophet’s Tomb, with the Tughra of Sultan Selim III

TXT 261
Istanbul, Turkey

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mihrab

TXT 272
Istanbul, Turkey

A Complete Kiswah for the Maqam Ibrahim

TXT 312
Cairo, Egypt

Mahmal

TXT 469
Cairo, Egypt

Mahmal

TXT 492
Cairo, Egypt

Sitarah for the Damascus Gate at the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 623
with the tughra of Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876–1909)

Two Sections from the Earliest Ka‘bah Belts to be Made in Mecca

TXT 634a-b
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A Complete Kiswah for the Maqam Ibrahim

TXT 291
Cairo, Egypt

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 274
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 279
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I

Section from the Belt of the Prophet’s Tomb

TXT 301
Istanbul, Turkey

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 305
Istanbul, Turkey; commissioned by Sultan Mehmed V

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 587
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 586
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A Complete Kiswah for the Maqam Ibrahim

TXT 531
Cairo, Egypt

Mahmal

TXT 529
Cairo, Egypt

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 475
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 381
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Selim III

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 359
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulaziz

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 353
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Mehmed IV

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 352
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Selim III

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 330
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 311
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 310
Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulhamid I

A Complete Belt for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 365
Istanbul, Turkey; commissioned by Sultan Mahmud II

Gateway Arch

MXD 293
India

The Arrival of the Mahmal

MSS 1356
Pera, Turkey

View of the Enclosure Around the Prophet’s Tomb, from a Dala’il al-Khayrat

MSS 1213
Turkey

Pilgrims Around the Ka‘bah

MSS 569
Mughal India

Panorama: al-haram almakki wa-ma hawluhu (‘The Meccan sanctuary and its environs’)

ARC.pp 0254.1
Signed Sadic Bey, and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

Panorama: al-ka‘bah al-mukarramah wa al-haram al-makki (‘The honoured Ka‘bah and the Meccan sanctuary’)

ARC.pp 0254.2
Signed Sadic Bey (3 times), and in Arabic Sadiq bayk

Panorama: al-hujjaj bi-mina yawn al-‘id al-akbar (‘The pilgrims at Mina on the day of the big feast’)

ARC.pp 0254.3
Signed, several times, Sadic Bey and in Arabic Sadiq bayk

Panorama: al-madinah al-munawwarah (‘Medina, the Radiant’)

ARC.pp 0254.4
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Muhammad Sadiq sanat

al-tawaf hawl al-ka‘bah (‘Circumambulation around the Ka‘bah’)

ARC.pp 0254.5
Signed in Arabic Sadiq bayk

al-salat hawl al-ka‘bah (‘Prayers around the Ka‘bah’)

ARC.pp 0254.6
Signed in Arabic Sadiq bayk

bab al-safa bi-makkah (‘The Safa gate in Mecca’)

ARC.pp 0254.7
Signed Sadic Bey

‘Arafat

ARC.pp 0254.8
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

al-ma‘allat bi-makkah (‘al-Ma‘alla cemetery in Mecca’)

ARC.pp 0254.9
Signed in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

al-madinah al-munawwarah/ al-bab al-shami (‘Medina, the Dasmascus gate’)

ARC.pp 0254.10
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

al-haram al-madani (‘The Sanctuary at Medina’)

ARC.pp 0254.11
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

sa‘adat Shawkat Basha shaykh al-haram al-madani/ aghawat of al-hujrah al-sharifah (‘Shawkat Pasha, the Saykh of the sanctuary at Medina, with two of the eunuchs of the Noble Chambre’)

ARC.pp 0254.12
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

sa‘adat Shawkat Basha shaykh al-haram al-madani wa aghawat of al-hujrah al-sharifah al-nabawiyyah (‘Shawkat Pasha, the Saykh of the sanctuary at Medina, with three of the eunuchs of the Noble Chambre of the Prophet’)

ARC.pp 0254.13
Signed Sadic Bey and in Arabic, Sadiq bayk

The Ka‘bah

ARC.pp 211.4
signed ‘Sadic Bey’

Section from the Curtain of the Prophet’s Tomb

TXT 241
Ottoman Turkey

Photograph of a Veteran Craftsman from Dar al-Kiswah

Arc.al 1.9
Egypt

Certificate Commemorating a Visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina

ARC.ct 10
Cairo, Egypt

The Return of the Mahmal from Mecca to Cairo

ARC.pt 123
Germany

Blue-print Map of the Hijaz Railway Line between Damascus and Medina

ARC.pt 626
Turkey

The Blessing of the Mahmal

ARC.pt 101
from The Pictorial World, London 

The Egyptian Mahmal on its Way to Mecca

ARC.pt 76
printed by Wentzel, Weissenberg, Germany

Views of Mecca and Medina from an Album of Architectural Prints (Entwurff einer Historischen Architectur)

ARC.pt 77
printed in Leipzig

Panoramic Overview of Mecca

ARC.pt 75
Carl Ponheimer, Vienna

Official Hijaz Railway Postcard

ARC.pc 432
Germany

Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 249
Cairo, Egypt

Photograph of the Mahmal

ARC.pp 163
Egypt

Photograph of the Damascus Mahmal

ARC.pp 166

The Baqi‘ Cemetery

ARC.pp 116

The Masjid al-Haram

ARC.pp 214
Mecca

Tableau Général de l’Empire Ottoman

ARC.pt 625.1-2
Paris

Hijaz Railway Photograph Album

ARC.al 6
Turkey

Photograph of the Procession of the Mahmal

ARC.pp 10
Egypt

Photograph of the Sitarah and Hizam of the Ka‘bah of 1916

ARC.pp 181
Turkey

Photographic View of Mecca

ARC.pp 46

Section from the Curtain of the Prophet’s Tomb

TXT 37
Istanbul, Turkey

Photograph of the Procession of the Mahmal

ARC.pp 06
Egypt

Photographic View of the Masjid al-Haram

ARC.pp 29
Mecca

The Mahmal Passing Through Cairo

ARC.pt 522
United Kingdom

Curtain (Sitarah) from the Tomb of the Prophet in Medina

TXT 250
probably Istanbul

Life-size template for the curtain of the minbar of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

MSS 1128.1
Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Rasulid Silver Dirham

ARC.mx 61
struck at Mina
AV.adc 43
struck at Makkah

One Su‘udi Riyal

AR 2629
struck at Makkah

Abbasid Silver Dirham

ARC.mx 57
struck at Makkah

Abbasid Gold Dinar

ARC.mx 91
struck at Makkah

Abbasid Gold Dinar

AV 138
struck at Makkah
AR.kh 7
struck at Makkah

Abbasid Silver Dirham

ARC.mx 55
struck at Makkah

Curtain for the Minbar (Pulpit) of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

TXT 503
Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Abbasid silver Dirham

ARC.mx 56
struck at Makkah

Abbasid Silver Dirham

ARC.mx 89
struck at Jazan

Abbasid Gold Dinar

AV 1074
struck at Makkah

Umayyad Gold Dinar

AV 1032
struck in ‘the mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hijaz’
TXT 430 – TXT 435
Ottoman Cairo, or perhaps Istanbul

Curtain for Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 253
Cairo, Egypt

Curtain for the Door of the Main Minaret at the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 256
probably Istanbul

Scroll with Views of Mecca and Medina

MSS 1270
China

Presentation Drawing of an Inscription Recording a Restoration of the Rain Spout of the Ka‘bah

CAL 300
Ottoman Turkey

The Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

MSS 1126
China

Painting Entitled ‘al-Rihlah al-Hijaziyyah/ Sacred Pilgrimage Journey’

MSS 1190

Qiblah Compass, with a View of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

SCI 458
Istanbul, Turkey

Qiblah Compass

SCI 275
Istanbul, Turkey

Curtain for Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 307
Cairo, Egypt

Talismanic Shirt

TXT 545
Turkey

The Dala’il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli and Other Prayers

MSS 1283
India, or possibly Mecca by Indian artists

Qiblah Compass

SCI 457
Istanbul, Turkey

Firuzabadi’s al-Qamus al-Muhit

MSS 236
Zabid, Yemen

Futuh al-Haramayn (a Handbook for Pilgrims to Mecca and Medina) of Muhyi al-Din Lari

MSS 1274
India

Single-Volume Qur’an with Depictions of the Two Holy Sanctuaries

QUR 1240
Turkey

The Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina

MSS 1278
India

Hilyah of the Prophet Muhammad with a View of Mecca

CAL 483
Turkey

The Dala’il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli and the Qasidat al-Burdah of al-Busiri

MSS 172
North Africa

An Exceptional Copy of al-Jazuli’s Dala’il al-Khayrat

MSS 1138
Morocco

Anthology of Poems and Religious Texts

MSS 381
Iran, probably Isfahan

A Lavishly Illuminated Copy of al-Jazuli’s Dala’il al-Khayrat

MSS 276
Turkey, probably Istanbul

A Painting of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

MSS 1136
North India or possibly Mecca

Circular Book of Prayers with Views of the Two Holy Sanctuaries

MSS 312
Ottoman Turkey

View of Mecca

MSS 1169
possibly Daghestan

Single-volume Qur’an with a Depiction of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

QUR 27
Istanbul or the Ottoman provinces

View of the Inner Court of the Prophet’s Mosque

MSS 1162
Rampur, India

Folio with the Hilyah and a View of Mecca

CAL 452
Ottoman Turkey

Panoramic View of the City of Mecca

MSS 1163
Turkey

Al-Shajarah al-Nabawiyyah

MSS 339
North Africa

Miniature View of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

MSS 1078
India or the Hijaz

Mahmal

TXT 442
Cairo, Egypt

‘Alexander Visits the Ka‘bah’, Folio from a Copy of Firdawsi’s Shahnamah

MSS 771
Shiraz, Iran

A Genealogy of the Prophet Muhammad (Nisbat al-Nabi)

MSS 1112
Middle East, possibly Syria

Miniature View of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

MSS 1171
India

A Complete Copy of al-Bukhari’s al-Jami‘ al-Sahih

MSS 360
probably Mecca

Safi ibn Vali’s Anis al-Hujjaj (‘Pilgrims’ Companion’)

MSS 1025
possibly Gujarat, India

Miniature View of the Prophet’s Mosque at Medina

MSS 1172
India

Three Sections from a Pilgrimage Scroll

MSS 745.1–3
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The Sufi Saint Mian Mir Praying at Medina

MSS 1238
India

Futuh al-Haramayn (a Handbook for Pilgrims to Mecca and Medina) of Muhyi Lari

MSS 1038
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Dala’il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli

MSS 97
Ottoman Turkey

A Unique Medallion with Views of Mecca and Medina

AV [MED] 1
Turkey or possibly the Hijaz

Curtain for Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 406
Cairo, Egypt

Panoramic View of Mecca

MSS 1077
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Statuette of a Camel and Rider

MXD 356
Middle East

Section from the Hizam (or Belt) of the Ka‘bah

TXT 251
Cairo, Egypt

Fragment from a Sitarah for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 530
Cairo, Egypt

Fragment from the Internal Kiswah of the Ka‘bah

TXT 539
Turkey

The Last Section from the Hizam of the Ka‘bah with Dedication

TXT 258
Cairo

Bib for the Camel of the Mahmal

TXT 541
Cairo, Egypt

Section from the Kiswah of the Ka‘bah

TXT 38
Cairo, or possibly Mecca

Section from a Kiswah of the Prophet’s tomb

TXT 549
Turkey

Scaled-down Model of a Sitarah for the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 154
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

A Complete Cover for a Damascus Mahmal

TXT 289
Istanbul, Turkey

 

Panel from the Sitarah of the Door of the Ka‘bah

TXT 39B
Cairo, Egypt

Panel from the Hizam (or Belt) of the Ka‘bah

TXT 39A
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Banner with the Ottoman Coat-of-Arms

TXT 429
Istanbul

Curtain for the Internal Door of the Ka‘bah (the Bab al-Tawbah)

TXT 386
Cairo, Egypt

Talismanic Shirt with Depictions of the Two Holy Sanctuaries

TXT 471
Mughal India or the Deccan

Curtain for the Internal Door of the Ka‘bah (the Bab al-Tawbah)

TXT 271
Cairo, Egypt

Bag for the Key of the Ka‘bah

TXT 135
Cairo or Istanbul

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mihrab

TXT 398
Istanbul

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

TXT 255
probably Istanbul

Bag for the Key of the Ka‘bah

TXT 459
Cairo, Egypt

Panel from the Belt of the Ka‘bah

TXT 292
Cairo, Egypt

Section from the Kiswah of Maqam Ibrahim

TXT 243
Cairo, Egypt

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

TXT 333
probably Istanbul

Prayer Carpet

TXT 59
Caucasus

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 323
Istanbul

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 373
Istanbul

Sitarah for Bab Jibril in the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 309
Istanbul

Sitarah for the Rawdah of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina

TXT 443
Istanbul

Sitarah for the Bab al-Tawassul in the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 348
Istanbul

Coffee-bean Cooler

POT 1977
Turkey

Ihram Belt

ARC.mx 588
Turkey

Surrah Purse (Ferashet Bohaci)

ARC.mx 699
Turkey

10 Rupee Hajj Banknote

ARC.mx 697
Pakistan

100 Rupee Hajj Banknote

ARC.mx 696
India

Specimen 10 rupees Hajj Banknote

ARC.mx 720
Pakistan

Calligraphic Composition with Mount ‘Arafat

ARC.pt 208
Orenburg, Russia

Printed Certificate of Hajj by Proxy with Original Metal Container

ARC.ct 61
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Sitarah for the Rawdah in the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 273
Istanbul

Pilgrimage Certificate of Hajj ‘Abbas Kararah

ARC.ct 12
Egypt

Certificate of Pilgrimage by Proxy

ARC.ct 19
Cairo, Egypt, printed by Fabrikah wa Matba‘at Muhammad Khalaf & Son

Permit for Travelling to Mecca

ARC.mx 704
Surabaya, Java

Section from a Pilgrimage Scroll

MSS 1079
the Hijaz

A 2-Sheet Chart of the Red Sea, from Jiddah, to the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb

ARC.pt 454.1-2
London; printed by John Walker

An Imperial Pilgrim’s Water Flask

MXD 366
Turkey
 

Chamfron with Cheek-pieces

MTW 995
Ottoman Turkey or Egypt

Hilyah of the Prophet Muhammad

CAL 482
Turkey

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 345
Istanbul

Tile with a Diagrammatic View of the Holy Sanctuary at Mecca

POT 1955
Iznik, Turkey

Tray with a View of the Masjid al-Haram

ARC.mx 618
Turkey

Pilgrim Flask

MTW 1754
Turkey

Qiblah Compass

SCI 471
Turkey

Pilgrim Flask

POT 1976
Turkey

A Pendant Set with Rocks Gathered from Mecca and Surrounding Areas

ARC.mx 468
Egypt

‘Tempio della Mecca’

ARC.pt 356
Italy

Bell from the Pilgrim Ship Clytoneus II

ARC.mx 424
United Kingdom

Magnetism I – IV

ARC.pt 528
Saudi Arabia

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 334
Istanbul

Tray, with the Procession of the Mahmal

ARC.mx 164
Syria

Toy Theatre in Original Box

ARC.mx 570
Vienna and London

Pop-up View of the Masjid al-Haram

ARC.mx 238
Europe

Silver Pocket Watch with Chain and Key

ARC.mx 571
Turkey

Statuette of a Camel

MTW 1667
Middle East

Talismanic Chart with a Hilyah

MSS 759
Istanbul, Turkey

Hilyah (Hilye-i Sherife)

CAL 459
Ottoman Turkey

Hilyah, Combined with the Relics of the Prophet

CAL 441
Ottoman Turkey

Da’irat al-Mu‘addil

SCI 270
Istanbul, Turkey

Da’iral al-Mu‘addil, with a Depiction of the Ka‘bah

SCI 49
Ottoman Turkey

Sitarah for the Prophet’s Mosque

TXT 347
Istanbul