Tiraz Fragment of Caliph Marwan II

late 7th–8th century

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Although best known as a lithographer of caricatured figure subjects, Adolf Dehn also worked with other media and subjects, including landscape watercolors. Dehn’s primary work in a black-and-white print medium may have led him to emphasize strong contrasts of light and dark, enhanced here by areas of drawing with a soft pencil or chalk. Although his talent for expressive form is also visible, this work is most impressive for Dehn’s dynamic control of the dark washes that broadly but forcefully define the jutting rock cliffs.

Caption

Tiraz Fragment of Caliph Marwan II, late 7th–8th century. Silk, compound twill weave, 3 1/2 x 4 in. (8.9 x 10.2 cm) Frame: 1 9/16 x 12 5/16 x 16 13/16 in. (4 x 31.2 x 42.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Pratt Institute, 41.1265. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1265_PS2.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Tiraz Fragment of Caliph Marwan II

Date

late 7th–8th century

Dynasty

Umayyad Dynasty

Period

Umayyad Period

Geography

Place made: North Africa, Tunisia

Medium

Silk, compound twill weave

Classification

Textile

Dimensions

3 1/2 x 4 in. (8.9 x 10.2 cm) Frame: 1 9/16 x 12 5/16 x 16 13/16 in. (4 x 31.2 x 42.7 cm)

Inscriptions

In Arabic, reconstruction of inscription from multiple fragments of same textile: "The servant of God, Marwan, Commander of the Faithful. Of what was ordered. [to be made by] al-R. [or al-Z.] in the tiraz of Ifriqiya." [From Journey Through Asia catalogue] Brooklyn Museum fragment includes "[faithful], what was ordered [to be made by]...al-R [or al-Z]." [From Byzantium and Islam catalogue] For text in Arabic, please see object file.

Credit Line

Gift of Pratt Institute

Accession Number

41.1265

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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