Kain Batik Tulisan Arab Ritual Cloth with Tughra of the Sultan

Jambi, Sumatra
19th very early 20th century
Cotton; tulis batik
36 x 88 in / 91 x 223 cm
$18,000 / SOLD

An exceptionally beautiful deep purple tulis (hand drawn) batik, featuring Islamic invocations, magical diagrams and the signature / calligraphic seal or tughra of the Ottoman Emperor.

Ottoman symbols like a tughra have held great spiritual and political agency throughout Sumatra since 1565 when the Ottoman Emperor sent ships in support of Aceh and other Muslim Sultanates of the Malacca Straits who were being attacked by the Portuguese.

Ex Roger Hollander Collection