end of a turban cloth

A turban consists of a cap and an exceedingly long strip of cloth wound around it and secured in place. Often, this long strip of cloth had decorated borders at each end that hung down. This turban cloth end fragment is part of a category of textiles known as tiraz. Tiraz is an Arabic word used to describe an embroidered inscribed garment or a textile with an inscription that was endowed and/or worn by a caliph or sultan. The top line of the gold inscription written across this tiraz fragment reads 'al mulk lillah' which translates to 'Sovereignty belongs to God.' The bottom-line translation remains to be complete, but we know that the line ends with the word 'Muhammad.' Made using bundles of resist-dyes, and decorated with gold leaf lettering once written by a masterful calligrapher, this cloth was intended to be more a gift of honor rather than a practical garment for everyday use.

Ursula McCracken (Author), "Perspective", The Textile Museum Bulletin, The Textile Museum Bulletin, Washington, D.C., 2001, Spring ed., p. 3 detail

Carol Bier (Author), "A Calligrapher's Art: Inscribed Cotton Ikat from Yemen", The Textile Museum Bulletin, The Textile Museum Bulletin, Washington, D.C., 2000, vol. Fall, p. 7

Sumru Belger Krody (Co-Author) and Shelley Burian (Co-Author) and Lee Talbot (Co-Author) and Karthika Audinet (Contributor) and Carol M. Bier (Contributor) and Walter B. Denny (Contributor) and Barbara G. Fraser (Contributor) and David W. Fraser (Contributor) and Mariachiara Gasparini (Contributor) and Mattiebelle Gittinger (Contributor) and Louise W. Mackie (Contributor) and Ann Pollard Rowe (Contributor) and Rebecca A. T. Stevens (Contributor), Textile Treasures: Highlights from The Textile Museum Collection and the Cotsen Traces Study Collection, Hali Publications Ltd., 2025, 1 ed., 90-91

Intrinsic Beauty: Celebrating the Art of Textiles, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Washington DC, February 22, 2025 - June 14, 2025

Ancient Egyptian Imports, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, February 01, 1964 - April 25, 1964

A Calligrapher's Art: Inscribed Cotton Ikat from Yemen, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, January 26, 2001 - April 29, 2001