Portrait of Ahmad al-Tijani
This suwer (or souwere, Wolof for reverse glass painting) portrays Ahmad al-Tijani (1735–1815), an Algerian religious scholar and mystic who, after having traveled extensively in North Africa and in Arabia, settled in Morocco and founded a new Sufi brotherhood, in 1781. Known as Tijaniyya, this spiritual order developed a strong following in Senegal in the second half of the 19th century. The image of the founder, on this and on other glass paintings, was often duplicated from a 19th-century Tunisian lithograph.
Artwork Details
- Title: Portrait of Ahmad al-Tijani
- Date: 1940s–1960s
- Geography: Made in Senegal
- Medium: Paint on glass
- Dimensions: H. 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm)
W. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2025
- Object Number: N.A.2025.2
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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1960s–1980s
possibly 1940s–1960s
1940s–1960s
1950s–1960s
possibly 1950s–60s
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