AN ARCH-SHAPED BRASS MOULD OF SHI'A INTEREST
Possibly Karbala, Iraq, Ottoman Provinces, 19th century

The cast brass mould of pointed arched shape, the front engraved in Arabic naskh script within a central cartouche, framed by geometric and scalloped borderwork, the inscription invoking the first Shi'a Imam 'Ali and referring to the city of Karbala (كربلاء), the most important and holiest site and pilgrimage destination for the Shi'a community, the reverse engraved with a stylised depiction of a domed mosque complex with multiple minarets, the shrine of Imam Hussain, the mould possibly used to create an official stamp, likely served as a pilgrimage certification stamp for devotees visiting the shrine.

7cm x 8.8cm

At Muslim pilgrimage sites, it was customary practice to stamp pilgrims’ documents, cloths, and amulets as proof of their visitation. Moulds like the present example might have been used to produce stamps given to shrine custodians or waqf officials and represent an important devotional and administrative practice within the Shi'a pilgrimage tradition. The shape and iconography are characteristic of objects produced in the Ottoman-controlled Iraqi provinces during the 18th–19th century, with strong associations to Shi'a holy sites in Karbala and Najaf.