This piece of silk is from a tomb cover. Silks with this zigzag design on a green ground were made for the Prophet Muhammad’s tomb in Medina. The main inscription is the Shahadah, which reads, ‘There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God’. The narrower band below it mentions the first four caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.
Caring for the Prophet’s tomb was a notable honour. When the Ottoman dynasty ruled Medina (1517–1916), special textiles were made to cover his tomb. Similar textiles were sent to decorate the Ka’bah in Mecca. Contact with the holy places imbued these covers with ‘barakah’ or divine grace. When the covers were renewed, pieces were preserved as relics.