This talismanic shirt is representative of the Ottoman style of such shirts with its short sleeves and a cut with a fitted waist that then flares out towards the bottom hem. The shirt is filled with calligraphy in a variety of scripts: square kufic, naskh, thuluth and nasta’liq. It is covered both front and back in geometric grids and other arrangements with Quranic verses, the declaration of faith (shahada) as well as the the sacred names of Allah (‘asma al-husnaa). Decorative floral borders with thickly applied pigments fill in remaining spaces. The use of talismanic shirts are not always well defined, although it is commonly understood that such shirts are worn by warriors underneath their armour to protect them during battles. It has also been suggested that these shirts could be used as healing garments.
