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Shamsa

الشمسة

A sun-shaped rosette ornament opening luxury Islamic manuscripts, often bearing the owner's or scribe's name.

Depth

At a glance

Identifiers
Wikidata
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Arts of the bookLibraries, paper and the book

Overview

A circular, sun-shaped ornament with which luxury Islamic manuscripts open. Its centre carries the names of the owner and the scribe. 1

People and things also explored

Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)· Arabesque· Girih· Hedwig glass· Horse colours and markings in Timurid painting· Islamic calligraphy· Islamic geometric patterns· Islamic lustreware

Sources

  1. Wikidata
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Shamsa”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/shamsa/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-17.

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Objects

Manuscripts, art, architecture and relics from collections worldwide. Related

Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)

A house of learning founded by Abu Nasr Sabur ibn Ardashir, vizier of Baha' al-Dawla. In 381 he bought a house between the two walls, brought into it books of every discipline, more than ten thousand volumes, and endowed it for students of knowledge. It stood for about seventy years, until it burned when Tughril Beg entered Baghdad in 450.