Khirqah with Quranic Verses

Before you is a khirqa with Qur’anic texts, made in India in the early sixteenth century. At first glance it is a garment, yet its surface has been transformed into a manuscript space: the cotton is covered with fine writing, circular medallions, rectangular panels, and coloured lines that organize the sacred text. Its straight cut recalls clothing intended for movement and for wearing in layers. In the Islamic world, comparable shirts could be worn under armour or treated as special protective objects: their power was understood to come not from the fabric itself, but from the Qur’anic word written upon the garment. For the Babur sector, this object is especially significant. In the early sixteenth century, the Central Asian Timurid tradition entered the Indian cultural sphere and became one of the foundations of Baburid civilization. This khirqa reveals how calligraphy, faith, military culture, and textile art could meet in a single object – personal, fragile, and closely connected with authority.