http://collection.shangrilahawaii.org/internal/media/dispatcher/56747/fullPolychrome Wooden Panels with Arabic Poetry InscriptionsDated 1271 AH (1854 - 1855 CE)Overall: 106 1/2 x 45 1/4 in. (270.5 x 114.9cm)Wood, polychrome pigments64.6.7a-e1This small, shuttered wall closet, called a khazāna or dūlāb, would have been used for storage within the qa’a, or reception hall, of a private home in Ottoman Damascus. The wooden panels are decorated using a technique called ‘ajami, a style of decoration that was used to embellish the walls of Damascene homes during the rule of the Ottoman empire. In this technique, gesso is applied to the woodwork in relief, painted with washes of brightly colored glazes, and illuminated with metal leaf.
The panel above the khazāna contains an Arabic inscription in gilded thuluth script:
Your traits have been portrayed to the people.
The inscription is part of a poem by Abū ʿAbdallāh Muhammad ibn Saʿīd al-Shanhājī al-Būṣīrī (1211–1294 CE). Al-Būṣīrī was a Moroccan-born Egyptian poet known for his poetry in praise of the Prophet Mohammed. The verse is continued on panels throughout the room.
Woodwork114.9352000000270.51050000001650326355