One of a pair of doors

Object Details

• Description

  One leaf of a double door (broken and repaired; four patches).

  Decoration cut in counter-sunk relief to an average depth of .019; ten inscriptions in ornamented kufi script.

• Inscriptions

  Upper medallion:

  [Arbc]

  wa-inna l'-masajida li-llahi wa-la tad'u ma'a 'llahi ahadan (Koran 72:18) sadaga 'llahu 'l-'azim

  "Mosques belong to God, so invoke none beside God. God the almighty has spoken the truth."

  Small circles:

  [Arbc] 'Ali

  [Arbc] Fatima

  Small square:

  [Arbc] Allah

  [Arbc] Muhammd

  [Arbc] al-Hasan

  [Arbc] al-Husayn

  Center medallion:

  [Arbc]

  Qala 'llahu tabaraka wa-ta'ala, wilayat 'Ali bn Abi-Talib 'alayhi ';-salam hisni, wa-man dakhala hisni amina min 'iqabi

  "God--blessed and exalted be he--said, 'The sainthood of Ali b. Abi-Talib--upon whom be peace--is my fortress, and whosoever enters my fortress is safe from my torment.'"

  Circle in the middle of center medallion:

  [Arbc]

  sl-salat 'imad al-din

  "Prayer is the pillar of religion."

  Bottom medallion:

  [Arbc]

  inna 'llaha wa-mala'ikatahu yusallluna 'ala 'l-nabiyi ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu sallu 'alayhi wa-sallimu tasliman (Koran 33:56)

  inna 'llaha wa-mala'ikatahu yusallluna 'ala 'l-nabiyi ya ayyuha 'lladhina amanu sallu 'alayhi wa-sallimu tasliman (Koran 33:56)

• Provenance

  To 1935

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York. [1]

  From 1935

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York. [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Islamic Art, Gallery 6A (July 22, 1958 to June 5, 1964)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Manuscripts, 1947 (October 6, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian and Near Eastern Art (May 5, 1933 to September 24, 1947)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Architectural Element

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1920s, 1900s

• Name

  Kevorkian, Hagop

• Topic

  Art, Wood, Arts of the Islamic World, Forgery

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Architectural elements