A fragment from the kiswah of the Ka'ba, Egypt or Saudi Arabia, 20th century

midnight-blue silk woven with a chevron design with inscriptions in thuluth, mounted on a stretcher

63.4 by 83.2cm.

inscriptions

jalla jalalahu, 'great is His splendour'

Shahada

Allah

The textiles associated with the Ka’ba comprise various elements, an overall covering (kiswah), a curtain over the door (burqa’) and a belt (hizam). The decoration of each element is richly calligraphic, the burqa’ and hizam embroidered in golden and silver threads with inscriptions. The lavish embroidery is complemented by the comparatively more subtle inscriptions woven in mirrored thuluth into the silk of the kiswah as shown by the present fragment. It has been suggested that the inscriptions can be attributed to 19th century calligrapher ‘Abdullah al-Zuhdi (Nassar 2023, p. 172).