Talismanic shirt

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A talismanic shirt (or talisman shirt; Turkish: t?ls?ml? gömlek) is a worn textile talismanic object. Talismanic shirts are found throughout the Islamic world. The shirts can be grouped to four types which differ in style and the symbols used: an Ottoman, a Safavid, a Mughal and a West African one.

The earliest surviving examples were made approximately in 15th century. Though the tradition of talismanic shirts might be much older. In the Surah Yusuf of the Quran a shirt of the prophet Yusuf is described as giving him protection and even miracle-working. He hands it over so it can heal the blindness of his father Yacub: "Go with this my shirt, and cast it over the face of my father: he will come to see"^{[Quran 12:93]}.

The shirts may be inscribed with verses from Quran, names of Allah and of prophets and with numbers. They may carry images or symbols, e.g. astrological ones. The inscribed names are believed to be capable of offering protection and guidance to the carrier. Although talismanic shirts can be worn to protect against many evils most of them seem to be intended as a shield in battle.

Video Talismanic shirt

Some examples in public collections

• Talismanic shirt, Bursa, Turkey, end of the 14th-beginning of the 15th century, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Istanbul, accession number 539
• Talismanic shirt for Sultan Cem, 1480, Topkap? Palace Museum, Istanbul. It was produced when Cem was still ?ehzade. The begin and end of the manufacturing of the object are precisely indicated by one of its inscription what is unusual.
• Talismanic shirt for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Topkap? Palace Museum, Istanbul. It was commissioned by Suleiman's wife Hürrem Sultan.
• Talismanic shirt, Northern India or Deccan, 15th-early 16th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 1998.199
• Talismanic shirt, India, 15th-16th century, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession number T.59-1935

Maps Talismanic shirt

References

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Further reading

• Al-Saleh, Yasmine (November 2010). "Amulets and Talismans from the Islamic World". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
• Tezcan, Hülya (2011). Topkap? Saray? Müzesi koleksiyonundan tilsimli gömlekler (in Turkish). Istanbul: Tima?. ISBN 978-6051143651. 

Source of the article : Wikipedia