Made in Arabic
cotton
القُطْن
A fragment of a Yemeni cotton shawl whose threads were dyed before weaving (ikat), giving stripes of chevrons and diamonds. The striped textiles of Yemen were famous across the Islamic world, and this one's inscription names a son of the Abbasid caliph al-Muntasir who governed Yemen. The name came to Europe from Arabic: quṭn became Old Italian cotone, Old French coton, and English cotton.
- Instrument
- a fragment of a striped cotton shawl, Yemen, late 9th–early 10th century
- Written on it in Arabic
- Painted on it in ink and gold, in kufic: the basmala and a blessing to its owner, and above: «Kingdom is God's».
The path between languagesquṭn → cotone → coton → cotton
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ملكٌ عامّ
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