NARRATOR: In the center of this carving is a shape which refers to a prayer niche. It has three different styles of script. The inscriptions around the outermost edge tell us that this came from Iran.

DENIZ BEYAZIT: Hi, I'm Deniz Barzit. I'm one of the curators in the Islamic Art Department. We are standing in front of a tombstone. Let's have a closer look on the content of the inscriptions, which is interesting. …We have a surat from the Qur’an going around on the outside. Then we have here in the upper part just above the niche, one line, which is the Shahada, the profession of faith, that there is only one God and no other god in the world and Mohammed is his prophet. And then we have, also, very interesting, at the bottom, a line where it is said, "This is the work of [Ahmed], son of Mohammed [Ashtak]." So we have the name of the artist and if we go further into the details, we see in the center of the niche, we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight lines where it is clearly said that "This is the grave of Abu S’ad, son of Mohammed, son of Ahmad son of [unintelligible], and he died in the month of Muharram of the year 545," which in our calendar is 1150.

NARRATOR: The shape of the central prayer niche refers to the prayer niche of a mosque, known as the mihrab. As you explore, you can hear some thoughts about how many of the objects in these galleries refer to ritual practices in the mosque. Press PLAY.