It is not immediately apparent whether this carved stone functioned as a mihrab (indicating the direction of prayer) or a tombstone, as it resembles both. Within and around the central prayer niche design, which occurs on both mihrabs and tombstones, are dense bands of Arabic inscriptions juxtaposing the rectilinear kufic script with the cursive naskh. The texts quote from the Qur’an without mention of a deceased. One of these Qur’anic passages refers to the act of prayer (17:78−79), lending support to the argument that this object is a mihrab; however, there is another Qur’anic citation that briefly references the gardens of Paradise (9:21−22).
It is signed across the bottom by its maker, ‘Ali Ahmad ibn Abu’l Qasim al-Kharrat. Al-Kharrat, meaning “the turner,” probably alludes to the stone carver’s hand-turned drill, and thus his profession. Indeed, he belonged to a family of stone carvers; his father, Abu’l Qasim al-Kharrat, is known for a closely related marble tombstone dated 1138−39, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
2024
