Quranic carved wooden panel [probably Seljuk Anatolia or Ilkhanid Persia, thirteenth century]

Monumentally large Qur'anic carved wooden panel, inscribed with Arabic prayer [probably Seljuk Anatolia or Ilkhanid Persia, thirteenth century] substantial wooden panel, carved in relief with Qur'anic verse in a stylised script verging on thuluth, foliate leaves and floral devices decorating the text, ornamental motif to right-hand edge of panel, probably lacking a section to left-hand side, some scuffs and slight chips with loss to extremities, overall attractive and presentable condition, with early metal hanging prongs and remains of early twentieth century paper label (reading "MIDI-PETIT VITESSE / BORDEAUX-SAINT-JEAN / DATE 21 ..." ) to reverse, 230 by 1970 mm. (and 50 mm. deep) Provenance: Remains of early twentieth century French printed luggage label to reverse from "Bordeaux Saint-Jean" station, then the property of a private estate in Cleveland Ohio since 1964. Text: Panels of this nature were often carved with prayers and inscriptions forming sections of cenotaphs, or used to cover tombstones. Examples survive from the eleventh century onwards and were popular throughout Andalusia, North Africa and Anatolia until the fourteenth century. The present example showcases a fine thuluth script, carved in deep relief, with decorative foliage comparable to a cenotaph found in Aksehir, Konya, in the David collection (Cenotaph, carved walnut, from the mausoleum of Mahmud Khayrani, c. 1340, Inv. no. 26/1976) and a wooden panel offered by Sotheby's in an online sale on 28 January 2020, lot 13.