Oriental Rugs From Egypt
In trying to discover anything about Oriental rugs in medieval Egypt, we are more or less confined to literary sources. Some fragments of the textiles that were used as floor coverings, with the loops formed by the weft threads cut open, survive from the time between the eighth and tenth centuries. There is frequent mention of carpets in the Fatimite period (tenth to twelfth century). The Caliph Al-Amir 91101-30) is said to have carpeted his audience chamber with silk in summer and wool in winter. Whether these carpets were woven or knotted is not mentioned. Again, there are records that Spanish rugs were used at the Fatimid court in 1124. It is also likely that Anatolian carpets reached Egypt, since there was brisk and constant trading throughout the Mediterranean region.
The impetus to an Egyptian Oriental rugs industry did not come through the political links between the Mamelukes and rulers of fourteenth-century Anatolia, but through the connection with Timur's son, Shah Rukh, who greatly encouraged Persian art and culture in his capital, Herat, and through his successor, Usun Hasan. Persian craftsmen probably came to Egypt under their reign.
A number of rugs can be attributed to the period between the end of the fifteenth and the middle of the sixteenth century. The characteristics of this group of Oriental rugs are as follows:
-Geometric designs predominate.
-The center medallion, a star developed out of an octagon, is extended by small geometric forms as far as the border. If the carpet is very long, stripes with geometric or floral designs are added.
-Floral motifs are always very small. The leaves are either mushroom-shaped on thin stems, or lanceolate. The finer the carpet, the more the pattern resembles a mosaic.
-The principal border stripe is either divided into panels of various size, or filled with small scrolling stems.
-The predominating colors are green, red, and blue.
-The Sehna or Persian knot is used.
More Persian craftsmen probably came to Cairo with the Turkish conquest of Egypt in 1517. They had been captured when the Turks occupied Tabriz three years earlier. Their arrival did not at once change the designs of Egyptian carpets, though more modern forms, chiefly naturalistic flowers - carnations, tulips, hyacinths - leaves, and arabesques, did eventually prevail. The basic colors remained the same, but red rather than green came to predominate.
In 1585, Sultan Murad III wrote to the Governor of Egypt demanding eleven carpet-masters and a quantity of wool (about 3,500 lbs.). The eleven men were sent to the Turkish capital - they may even have gone of their own choice. But their store of wool would certainly have been inadequate to set up a Court manufacture. At most, it might have been enough for fifteen to twenty medium-sized carpets.
The transfer of the carpet-masters did not result in an Ottoman Court manufacture, nor did it cause irreparable damage to Oriental rugs production in Egypt. Nevertheless, there is no evidence of an Egyptian carpet art after the seventeenth century.
Tagged with: al amir • anatolian carpets • audience chamber • caliph • center medallion • floral designs • floral motifs • fourteenth century • geometric designs • geometric forms • literary sources • mamelukes • mediterranean region • Oriental Rugs • persian art • persian knot • shah rukh • tenth centuries • twelfth century • weft threads
Filed under: Oriental Rugs
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
