Talisman Shirt with Qur’an from Early Modern India

This shirt dating from 15th-early 16th century northern India contains the entire Qur’an. Check out the picture-like framing, as though the wearer were adorning himself with a book rather than mere cotton. The illustrated rondels that overlay the pectoral muscles, the shoulder-pad-esque details, and the fringes that look like lapels all contribute to a faux-armor. Thus, this shirt invokes spiritual protection for the wearer analogous to a bullet-proof vest. The Islamic world had medical traditions to treat illness, but this shirt exemplifies the fact that some Muslims of the Early Modern world also turned to talismanic protection against disease. Historian Christiane Gruber considers vestments like these the spiritual version of modern PPE.