Veil of Hisham II

As an object of historic value, this veil was given to the Real Academia de Historia for study and conservation. It was exhibited for the first time during the exhibition « Exposición Histórico Europea » (Madrid, 1892-1893). It was restored in 1991 – 1993 by the Instituto del Patrimonio Histórico Español (Madrid).

The veil is in the form of a wide band of extremely fine and delicate material. It may have served as a head covering. It would have been possible to wrap the veil around the head like a turban.

It is decorated with three horizontal bands. The black, central band is framed by two fine braids of ovals and pearls and is decorated with thirteen octagonal medallions, two of which show figurative human characters (certain researchers have suggested that these represent Hisham II and his mother, princess Subh, who acted as regent when he was a minor). The other medallions show highly stylised images of four-legged animals or birds on a cream or gold background. The spaces between the medallions are decorated with stylised illustrations of vegetation: triangular palms with two lobes, flowers with four petals. Several of these patterns are picked out in gold thread. The silk thread used is in white, light blue, cream, yellow, mauve and light green. A black border surrounds the coloured patterns.

Two elegant inscriptions in white calligraphy on a beige background are to be found on the central band. The upper extremes of certain letters, in particular the alif, are decorated with elegant flourishes. This is characteristic of the Kufic style used in al-Andalus. Other examples can be found in the inscriptions in the mihrâb of the Cordoba mosque[1], and on other contemporary objects in ivory such as the Leyre chest in the Museo de Navarra in Pamplona (Spain)[2] or in ceramic[3]… Other letters such as the nun have their upper extremities in the form of triple lobed half-palm. Identical decoration can be found on other textiles such as that conserved by the Museo Episcopal y Capitular de Arqueología Sagrada de Huesca (Spain)[4].

According to the 17^th century historian al-Maqqarî, “ Hisham the Umayyad left no other mark of his caliphate other than the orison given in his name from the minbar, the inscription of his name on coins and the cloth of the tiraz”.  This veil, with the inscription of the caliph’s name, was probably made in the government workshops in Cordoba (tiraz). Taking into account the content of the inscriptions, it is probable that this piece was part of a turban belonging to Hisham II. In the Christian manuscript dating from 975 known as the Beato de Girona[5], we can see a miniature showing a horseman wearing a turban of this sort.

The court workshops were the equivalent of institutions, which already existed under Sassanid and Byzantine rule and which were taken over by the Muslims in the east of their empire as well as in the west, in al-Andalus. Even though there are few existing examples from the 10^th century, this piece illustrates perfectly the quality of work produced by the al-Andalus workshops. The technology used was imported from Coptic Egypt and the structure of the decoration shows inspiration draw from oriental sources - Coptic[6], Byantine[7] and Muslim[8] - which take their inspiration from Sassanid art. Textiles showing animals enclosed in medallions were often seen during the Islamic era and in particular those from the Fatamid tiraz.

Numerous Islamic objects were re-used by the Christians particularly in church decoration. This piece is an example of that re-use.

[2] Pamplona, Museo de Navarra, no inventory number.

[3] Madrid, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, inv. 63043.

[4] See, for example. Al-Andalus: the Art of Islamic Spain, 1992, p.226-227. This piece has no inventory number.

[5] Cathedral of Girona, inv.7(11).

[6] Ornamentation with birds and four-legged animals within the medallions are in close relationship to those seen on Coptic textiles. See for example in Textiles from Egypt 4th-13th centuries,1980, n°51, 86; Martiniani-Rber, 1991, n° 87, 112, 126, 137 ; n° 12; Thompson, D., 1971; inv. 08 480 52 of the Brooklyn Museum.

[7] See for example, the textiles shown by the mosaic of the Empress Theodora in the Saint-Vitale church in Ravenna.

[8] See for example, Textiles from Egypt 4th-13th centuries, 1980, n° 269.