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Allah by Nanette Mathe

19th Century Ottoman Turkey sets the scene for this piece of art. Leaves would be soaked in an alkaline solution till the opaque integument had rotted away. The inscription was stenciled on the leaf and covered by wax to protect the letters from the alkali. The result – a wonderful, lacy piece of art often with the names of family members, important people, or inscriptions from the Islam scripture, the Qur’an, featured on it. My leaf was constructed from machine embroidery and then the Islam word for God, Allah, was embroidered on top.

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