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Secondary sourcePainting2017

Rumi's Imaginary on Tiling Art, Yeni Qapi

2017

A modern painted tile artwork imagining Rumi's likeness, photographed in Istanbul in 2017.

This tile artwork imagines Rumi's appearance, as no portrait survives from his own lifetime.

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Oval painted portrait of an elderly man with a long white beard, wearing a tall gold-colored cap wrapped in a white turban and a green cloak with orange fur trim, against a turquoise background.
Imagined portrait of Rumi on tile art, Yeni Qapi, Istanbul, photographed 2017.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph of a painted oval portrait on tilework in Yeni Qapi, Istanbul, showing an imagined likeness of Rumi: an elderly bearded man wearing a tall cap wrapped in a turban and a green cloak.

Why it matters

Since no portrait of Rumi was made during his own lifetime, later artists have imagined his appearance based on tradition. This tile shows one such modern artistic interpretation rather than a historical likeness.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the artist chose this clothing and color scheme for the portrait?
  • What does the word

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Open illuminated manuscript spread showing two pages with gold and blue decorative borders, floral illumination, and panels of gold-tinted Persian script in the center. Ornamental marginal dots and a faded title line appear at the top right.Book

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Masnavi

Rumi · c. 1258-1273

Illuminated manuscript page with Persian calligraphy at top and bottom and a painted scene of seated and standing men in a landscape with trees, flowers and a grassy slope. A bearded man in a black robe and white turban sits facing a young man in an orange robe and ornate hat, while a shirtless man sits nearby and attendants and onlookers stand or sit around them.Book

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Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi

Rumi · c. 1247 onward

Exterior view of the Mevlana Mausoleum in Konya: a stone building with a tall turquoise conical-roofed dome, a second grey dome, two slender minarets, and a stone wall with trees and flowering shrubs in front on a sunny day under blue sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Grave of Rumi

soon after 1273

Page of an Arabic-script manuscript with dense handwritten text in black ink, with several passages and marginal notes highlighted or underlined in red. The aged paper is cream-colored with a dark border, and some text runs along the margins.Book

Primary source

Fihi Ma Fihi

Rumi · c. 1260-1273

Exterior of the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey: a stone complex with a tall turquoise conical-roofed dome, a white minaret with a pointed cap, grey domes, and a low wall in a grassy park under a blue sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Mevlâna Museum

Badr al-Din Tabrizi (architect) · built soon after 1273; museum since 1926

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