A LARGE MUSLIM INDIAN PRAYER PANEL WITH THE BISMILLAH AND MECCA AND MEDINA ROUNDELS
Northern India, 19th century

Opaque pigments and ink heightened with gold on thick stained card, the large prayer panel opening with a lobed cartouche in-filled with the bismillah in black ink rayhani script at the top, the cartouche inscribed 1252 AH (1836 AD), flanked by two rosette medallions containing aerial views of the two holiest sites in Islam, Ka'ba in Mecca and al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, in the middle of the panel a large roundel containing v. 255 of Sura al-Baqara (2) in black ink tawqi script, surrounded by flower heads with the names of Allah and Muhammad, and more prayers at the bottom of the panel in black ink rayhani and naskh scripts, set within concentric decorative borders with gilt rosette sprays on black and bright red grounds, the reverse plain, 71.3cm x 56.5cm.