Bidspirit auction | AN OTTOMAN ILLUMINATED HAJJ CERTIFICATE

AN OTTOMAN ILLUMINATED HAJJ CERTIFICATE SCROLL. - An Ottoman pilgrimage certificate (Hajj-name) presented as a vertical scroll, executed in ink, polychrome pigments, and gold leaf on paper. This document serves as both a legal certification and a devotional memento of the Hajj pilgrimage. The scroll is divided into several decorative and informative registers. The top features an intricate illuminated unwan (headpiece) with scrolling foliate and floral motifs in red, blue, and gold, from which four stylized mosque lamps are suspended. Below this is a monumental Basmala written in gold thuluth script, followed by the Shahada. The central portion of the scroll contains stylized architectural diagrams of holy sites. These include the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina and a plan of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, with the Ka'aba depicted as a black cube at the centre of the circular Mataf. Key landmarks such as the Maqam Ibrahim are identified with Arabic labels. A significant devotional element is the depiction of the Nalayn al-Sharif (the Prophet's sandal), which is filled with protective and poetic text. The bottom section features a block of text in black naskh script certifying the pilgrimage of a woman named Maymuna bint Muhammad bin Abdullah. The text lists the rites performed, including those at Safa, Marwa, and Mount Arafat. Three small cartouches above the Mecca diagram contain the names of witnesses or officials, including Hamza I, Hamza II, and Muhammad III. A Quranic verse from Surah Al-Fath (48:1) is also integrated into the design. Approximately 97.5 x 29.5cm