Painted Ottoman pilgrimage scroll

[Ottoman scroll]. [Painted Hajj certificate].

Auf Anfrage

A beautiful and brightly painted scroll depicting the stages of the Hajj in four panels, created for a pilgrim as part of an ancient tradition of Hajj and 'Umra certificates, also called pilgrimage rolls, which confirmed that its owner or the owner's legal substitute had undertaken the Hajj or 'Umra pilgrimage, and which also provided an important keepsake to be kept or displayed in the home. The paintings seen here record of a journey to Mecca, Madinah, and Jerusalem, depicted in the traditional stylized Muslim manner used for pilgrimage rolls. The tradition of such rolls dates back at least to the 11th century, with the addition of illustrations coming in the 12th.

Each panel depicts a different stage of a pilgrimage, both those required to fulfil the steps of the Hajj and those often undertaken in addition to the mandatory steps. In the first panel shows Masjid al-Haram with the Kaaba at its centre, the Black Stone visible and labelled, the Zamzam Well and the hills of Safa and Marwa below. The second panel shows the Muzdifah Mosque, Al-Mash'ar Al-Haram, where pilgrims would journey after a day on Mt. Arafat, also shown. The third illustrates Madinah's Quba Mosque and the tomb of the Prophet in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi. In the fourth are holy sites and symbols of Jerusalem, centred around the Prophet's footprints in the Dome of the Rock. A short text follows, stating the completion of a pilgrimage and signed by witnesses. Altogether, a detailed and beautifully rendered example of an ancient tradition dating back to the Golden Period of Islam.

Light soiling, gentle warping of a scroll that has been stored rolled. Paints remain bright and captions quite legible.