Bracelet | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum

Bracelet, between 1000 and 1100

Islamic, Syrian

Gold

Overall (diam.): 2 3/4 inches (7 cm) Overall (diam. through hinged lock): 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm)

Gift of Mrs. Roscoe B. Jackson

26.15

On View

Islamic N120

Department

Islamic Art

Triangles (polygons)
Filigree
Fatimid
Gold
Lozenge
Floral pattern
Bracelet (jewelry)
Kufic script
Syria

“Sovereignty belongs to God” is the inscription on this bracelet, spelled out in grains of gold, intertwined with floral scrolls, and adorned with filigree. Little remains of the rich legacy of early Islamic jewelry, but what has survived demonstrates its great quality. The Fatimids (909–1176) ruled Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria for two hundred years and commissioned luxury objects of exquisite workmanship. This bracelet, made in Syria, illustrates the heights achieved by the Fatimid goldsmith.

Inscribed, near hinge, on both sides, Kufic script, probably: al-mulk li'llah [translated: Sovereignty is God's]

Mrs. Roscoe B. Jackson

1926-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

The Heritage of Islam, Pattern and Precision, National Committee: Islam Centennial Fourteen, 1982, object list no. 178. Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 128 (ill.).

Islamic, Syrian, Bracelet, between 1000 and 1100, gold. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. Roscoe B. Jackson, 26.15.