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Folio from the Shahnama that shows a game of polo between the Turanian king Afrasiyab and the Persian prince Siyavush.
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A silk robe fragment with medallions on a grid pattern. The medallions show winged horses drinking.
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Timurid painting of men playing backgammon and women playing checkers
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This is a painting by Nakkas Osman of the 1582 circumcision festival of Prince Mehmed. The Ottomans are wrestling in this public space as an intimidating diplomatic gesture towards the foreign envoys present at this ceremony.
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This is a map of present day Sicily off the coast of Italy, colored by province.
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This world map has been edited to better fit the general understanding of medieval Islamic representations of the globe. The North and South American continents have been removed, the map has been rotated 180 degrees, and the tip of Africa has been stretched to meet Australia.
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The rectangular map of the world taken from the 12th century Book of Curiosities of the Sciences and Marvels for the Eye is the only extant medieval rectangular map of the world.
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Map of Sicily from the Book of Curiosities of the Sciences and Marvels of the Eyes
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This is a 15th century map of the world recreated after a similar map made by Ptolemy in the 8th century.
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This is an image of a shadow puppet of a battleship used during Islamic shadow plays. This puppet would have been used as a character within the narrative of a play, most likely telling a story with a moral in a public space.
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This is a map showing what the Mamluk Sultanate looked like in 1330. It also shows the other major states in the region as well as the area of the previous Ayyubid Sultanate
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Album page. This painting depicts a privileged merchant travelling to a coffeehouse in Safavid Iran.
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A Mamluk glass bottle that has a frieze depicting people playing polo.
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This is a woven tapestry fragment with staggered rosettes and medallions. It is from the Umayyad time and it is meant to be a representation of paradise. It was used as a carpet or furnishing fabric.
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“Procession of coffee sellers with a model of coffee cart during the Imperial circumcision festival” depicts the emergence of coffee as a significant item of consumption during the rule of Ottoman Sultan Murad III, and places the broader subject of coffee in the context of the circumcision ceremony of 1582. The rise of coffee as a social beverage is symbolized by illustrating coffee sellers processing through the Hippodrome during one of the most culturally significant Ottoman ceremonies. The piece is a part of Surname-i Hümayun, commissioned by Sultan Murad III, Prince Mehmed’s father, depicting the integration of all social classes in public ceremonies. The circumcision ceremony of 1582 glorified the Ottoman Empire and its rulers, establishing Ottoman identity within the context of other empires.
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This engraving shows the northern entryway of the Maydan-i Naqsh-i Jahan. The coffeehouses that will be looked at further are along the righthand side of the engraving.
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This textile found in the reliquary of Saint Anastasius. It is from the late Umayyad period.
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The Book of Curiosities is a two part book mapping (1) celestial matters and (2) regions of the Mediterranean and the globe. It is likely an incomplete copy of an 11th century work. The image is a rectangular map of the world included in the Book of Curiosities.
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This textile features Safavid courtiers leading Georgian captives from their military campaigns between 1540 and 1553. In between the repeating pattern of figures is a tree with a bird in it.
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This velvet textile features a princely pastime of hunting. This velvet panel is from the interior of a tent used by Kara Mustapha Pasha.
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This textile fragment depicts a courtier holding a wine cup among many different flowers, trees and wildlife. Similar to manuscripts produced during the reign of Shah Tahmasp.
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This is a map of Persia between 16th and 18th century.
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A Safavid velvet showing a prince engaging in the past time of falconry. This velvet features a lattice pattern formed by hexafoil medallions.
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A Safavid velvet showing a prince engaging in the past time of falconry. This velvet features a lattice pattern formed by hexafoil medallions.
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Right side of a full opening image depicting Timur holding court at his accession. From the Garrett Zafarnama.