Naveed and Saima

Medium: Silhouette paper-cut. Cut by hand using a scalpel.

Dimensions: Approximately A4. 297 x 210 mm

Date: March 2010

Comments:
Personalised wedding gift commission.

This design incorporates a number of typically Shia-Muslim symbolic features, including the numerological code (786/110) for the Arabic bismillah ("In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful"), as well as the matching "zamin" on the right-hand sleeve of both bride and groom, which traditionally feature the embroidered invocation to Ali (the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad) and Zahra (epithet of Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, and wife of Ali).

The Koran lies open above the newly-wed couple. The quotation is rendered in Arabic and English script:

"He has put between you affection and mercy" (Koran 30:21)
(Arabic: wa-ja'ala bayna-kum mawaddatan wa-rahmatan)

The depiction of the costumes and jewellery is based on typical Pakistani wedding dress. The "zamin" is traditionally worn on the right upper arm, over the sleeve of the wedding dress. In real life, it is made of embroidered fabric, and includes the appropriate Arabic script invocation of Fatima (for the bride's dress, as below: "yaa Zahra", "O shining one", epithet of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet), or Ali (for the groom).

Designed as a Pakistani Shia-Muslim wedding gift commission.



Price: £SOLD. In a private collection in Ipswich, England.