Block-printed Mamluk textile fragment
Type:
Textiles
Date:
Thirteenth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Egypt
Medium:
Linen
Dimensions:
11.5 × 19.1 cm
Description:
This textile fragment from Mamluk Egypt was made by block printing, using an inked wooden block to impress the repeated patterns on undyed linen. The six-pointed stars were widely used apotropaic and decorative devices not associated with a particular faith or cultural group. The larger multipetal rosettes feature a central roundel containing the repeated Arabic inscription "the sultan"; the petals contain Chinese lotus flowers and knots. These designs may have been inspired by Mongol objects and fabrics that reached Egypt, or they could be imitations of block-printed fabrics from India, to which Egypt was connected by well-traveled sea routes. Fabrics from medieval Gujarat have been found in Egypt, but this piece was probably made in the Mamluk realm as in imitation of a more costly silk.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• The textile fragment is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Gift of George D. Pratt 1929.907)
• For Indian block-printed textiles in Egypt, see the Newberry Collection at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Image Credits:
Cleveland Museum of Art
