File:Image of a Head Tarshprint Utah Or. p.1560r.jpg

Original file (1,961 × 9,807 pixels, file size: 4.28 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Summary

Author
Unknown
Description
English: Unique image of a human head in a tarshprint

Originally folded into a tiny, portable square measuring only 3.4 × 2.5 cm, for protection against indigestion, colic, constipation and urinary retention.

The printing was executed in black ink, but decorative red accents remain in the headers, text dividers, and illustrations. Notably, a "mirror image" or offset of the ink is visible across the sheet, suggesting it was folded while the ink was still fresh.

The header is made up of 3 parts: 1. Tear drop with floriated Kufic border 2. A circle with a Kufic band 3. A mihrab framed by mirrored Kufic.

The middle section is the main text of the amulet, though it is separated by a divider made up of a quadruple mirror print of the word li-shifā’ (“as a cure”) in angular Kufic.

The footer consists of an image of a human head within a crescent. It's design is similar to Fatimid manuscript illustrations, which itself drew upon Byzantine iconography.

Translation:

1. Oh God, strengthen [. . . . . .] 2. by Your name, oh Merciful, oh Compassionate whose 3. favours towards us are [. . . .] I seek refuge with Him who listens to 4. this letter of mine . . . . . . the master . . . . . . .; I seek refuge 5. by the clear Qurʙān and every name that may appear 6. in . . . . . . . . . . . . the Merciful from every 7. eye which [. . . . . . . . . . . .] hatred 8. and contention; I seek refuge in Him from 9. evil talk [. . . . . . . . . . .]; I seek refuge with 10. God the Lord of the Day of Judgment from all those with eyes 11. and ears which hear; I seek refuge from every soul [section break; decorative panel] 12. that transgresses [. . . . . . . . . . .] 13. [. . . .] in corrupt hearts; and I seek refuge with the One whom 14. Ḏū l-Nūn called by name in the darkness of the seas 15. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] magnifies 16. [His name] which is hidden and pure for 17. He brings forth from [. . .] every [. . . . .]: from 18. he graves, from [. . . . .] magic and from [. . . . . .] and from the oppressor and from 19. indigestion [. . . . . . . . . . and from] burning colic 20. and from the plague and constipation 21. and the inability to pass urine trapped in the bladder
Date 900-1430
Medium laid paper of relatively even thickness
Dimensions Length 39.5 cm; width between 6 cm and 6.8 cm;
Source/Photographer

https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=766088

2008,Mark Muehlhaeusler, Eight Arabic Block Prints from the Collection of Aziz S. Atiya. 537-540
Other versions
Image extraction process This image has an extracted file: Tarsh printed head.jpg.
lang=en

Licensing

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
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Unique image of a human head in a tarshprint

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current13:36, 5 February 2026Thumbnail for version as of 13:36, 5 February 20261,961 × 9,807 (4.28 MB)WakobearUploaded a work by Unknown from Enigmatic Charms Karl Schaefer 2006 with UploadWizard

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