'Alam (Standard)1630-31/1040 A.H.

Not on view

Brass or bronze finial with a blade-form top, curving arms ending in animal heads, and a pierced oval panel of Arabic or Persian script, mounted on a turned baluster and conical socket

Cast brass finial with a cylindrical socket at base, a pierced teardrop-shaped body bearing openwork Arabic calligraphy, flanked by two crescent shapes with small animal-head terminals, and a pointed spike at top.

Cast iron ceremonial standard with a vertical blade topped by a fleur-de-lis finial, two upward-curving crescent blades at mid-shaft, small animal-head projections at their junctures, and an oval openwork panel with Arabic-script inscription below, mounted on a turned socket.

Title: 'Alam (Standard)
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: 1630-31/1040 A.H.
Period: Safavid (1501-1732)
Medium: Brass, cast
Dimensions: 36 7/8 × 11 3/8 in. (93.66 × 28.89 cm) Overall (Diameter): 3 in. (7.62 cm)
Credit Line: The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Accession Number: M.85.237.91
Classification: Metal
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: This elaborately decorated standard, or ‘alam, is specifically associated with the Shi‘a denomination of Islam, the majority faith in Iran. Originally mounted on a cloth-covered staff, it was likely carried in processions commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala, in the month of Muharram, AH 61/680 CE. It perhaps represents a highly stylized version of Imam Husayn’s own battle standard and, as is typical, bears a central pear-shaped design featuring an openwork inscription in which the letters of the words Allah, Muhammad, Fatima (his daughter), and ‘Ali (his son-in-law) appear to float in space. The framing band is inscribed with the names of the Twelve Imams venerated in Iran, further emphasizing the Shi‘a belief in their right to leadership. Additionally, prayers included within cartouches on the front and back, along with the two dragon heads, signify the ‘alam’s role as both a religious symbol and a potent source of spiritual protection.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Denny, Walter B. Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edward Binney, 3rd. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1979.
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.
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.

'Alam (Standard)1630-31/1040 A.H.

Not on view

Title: 'Alam (Standard)
Place Made: Iran
Date Made: 1630-31/1040 A.H.
Period: Safavid (1501-1732)
Medium: Brass, cast
Dimensions: 36 7/8 × 11 3/8 in. (93.66 × 28.89 cm) Overall (Diameter): 3 in. (7.62 cm)
Credit Line: The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Accession Number: M.85.237.91
Classification: Metal
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: This elaborately decorated standard, or ‘alam, is specifically associated with the Shi‘a denomination of Islam, the majority faith in Iran. Originally mounted on a cloth-covered staff, it was likely carried in processions commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala, in the month of Muharram, AH 61/680 CE. It perhaps represents a highly stylized version of Imam Husayn’s own battle standard and, as is typical, bears a central pear-shaped design featuring an openwork inscription in which the letters of the words Allah, Muhammad, Fatima (his daughter), and ‘Ali (his son-in-law) appear to float in space. The framing band is inscribed with the names of the Twelve Imams venerated in Iran, further emphasizing the Shi‘a belief in their right to leadership. Additionally, prayers included within cartouches on the front and back, along with the two dragon heads, signify the ‘alam’s role as both a religious symbol and a potent source of spiritual protection.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Denny, Walter B. Turkish Treasures from the Collection of Edward Binney, 3rd. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1979.
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.
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.