Silks like this with zigzag designs on a red ground were specially made to line the Ka’bah. This is the cube-shaped stone building at Mecca which is the major site for Muslim pilgrimage.
On this textile the largest inscription is the Shahadah, the Islamic declaration of faith. The narrower band above it contains a quotation from the Qur'an. In it, God instructs Muslims to pray towards the Ka'bah. The other texts praise God.
Grand mausoleums were erected over the graves of the great and the holy in most Islamic societies. These buildings included the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad himself in his mosque at Medina, north of Mecca.
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.