Can anyone read/identify this inscribed tablet, Arabic maybe?

September 21, 2019 12:57 PM

This mystery museum artifact appears to be some kind of stone tablet with an inscription in what looks like Arabic writing?? Can anyone read this to help us identify what it might be or where it might be from? Any clues or hints would be more information than we have now, which is absolutely nothing. (Thanks, and I know this is a longshot!)
posted by gudrun to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Best answer: I can't read a word but it's probably an Ottoman tombstone of an official or high-ranking man. See here and here for similar examples.
posted by sukeban at 2:21 PM on September 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: For comparison, from LACMA: "This carved Ottoman marble turban was once the headstone for the tomb of a member of the imperial Ottoman family or a high dignitary, such as a vizier. It would have been positioned at the head of a gable-topped stone bier most likely situated in a domed, open mausoleum, or it may have surmounted an inscribed tombstone. Ottoman society was rigidly structured, and all members of the civil, military, and religious establishments were identified by their headgear, an ordering that continued even in death: male tombs used stone representations of headgear to signal rank, while women were represented by carved flowers."
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:50 PM on September 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you check this Quora question and scroll down, you can see one that looks a lot like yours. According to that thread it was someone who was in the Turkish army, they had the emblems and official hats (turban) of their units carved on stones. More examples and explanation can be found at this link. If I am reading this correctly, that style of turban is 'serdengeçti' (please someone who knows more correct me) and there are some other examples on Pinterest.
posted by jessamyn at 6:08 PM on September 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Definitely a tombstone. The bottom line gives 1227AH as the year of death. The one above that is giving the name, but I can't quite make it out. Marhoom (the late) Syed Ali something or other. Will try to puzzle out the rest. The calligraphy makes it harder.
posted by bardophile at 5:05 AM on September 22, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: All fantastically helpful, thanks!

Memail me if anyone wants a 24 MB version of the photo, which is the largest size available and too big for imgur (the one up on imgur is a bit over 16 MB).
posted by gudrun at 7:17 AM on September 22, 2019

Best answer: The name is Marhoom Syed Aashir Agha Zaujana.
posted by bardophile at 10:02 AM on September 22, 2019 [5 favorites]