Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shi‘ites believe that the Prophet Muhammad designated ‘Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as the next leader (imam) of the Islamic community. This office was inherited by ‘Ali’s sons (the Prophet’s grandsons by his daughter Fatima) and then passed to successive generations of male descendants. Inscribed throughout with invocations to God, the Prophet, Fatima, and the imams, this standard was likely carried in Shi‘ite rituals such as Muharram processions or perhaps into battle as a proclamation of faith as well as a means of securing blessings and protection.

• Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

• Denny, Walter B.  Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edward Binney, 3rd.  Portland, OR:  Portland Art Museum, 1979.

• Komaroff, Linda. "Islamic Art Now and Then." In Islamic Art: Past, Present, Future, edited by Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom, 26-56. New Haven, New York, and London: Yale University Press, 2019.