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Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Abdülmecid ['Abd al-Majid] I
London, United Kingdom
Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection
About Khalili Family Trust – Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage Collection, London
Dated Hejira 1263 / AD 1846–7
TXT 406
Black silk, with red and gold-coloured silk appliqués, heavily relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over card and cotton thread padding
550 x 275cm
Ottoman
Egypt, Cairo, Dar al-Kiswa
The curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba – known also as sitara, burda or burqu‘ – was by far the most elaborate part of the kiswa and was replaced annually. Since Mamluk times, they were made in Egypt, and left Cairo with the kiswa accompanied by the caravan of pilgrims amidst great pomp and circumstance.
The design of this curtain is typical of those made at the Dar al-Kiswa in Cairo during the 19th century, and it continued to be used until the early 20th century. Curtains of this type were usually made in four sections which were embroidered and then sewn together, the heavy wire embroidery almost completely obscuring the seams. The silk fabric was backed with heavy canvas which helped support the weight of the wire, which on a heavily embroidered example like this, can weigh anything up to 60 kilograms. With its heavy use of embroidery, this curtain could have easily taken 20 or more embroiderers two months to complete.
The date is embroidered on the curtain.
al-Mojan, M.H., al-Ka‘bah al-musharrafah ‘imaratan wa kiswatan, Mecca, AH 1426 (AD 2005).
Nassar, N., “Dar al-Kiswa al-Sharifa. Administration and Production”, in Porter, V., and Saif, L. (eds), The Hajj: Collected Essays, London: British Museum, 2013: 175–83.
Tezcan, H., Astar al-haramayn al-sharifayn, Istanbul: IRCICA, 1996.
Tezcan, H., Sacred Covers of Islam’s Holy Shrines, Istanbul: Masa, 2017.
Nahla Nassar "Curtain for the door of the Ka‘ba, with the name of Sultan Abdülmecid ['Abd al-Majid] I" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus22;30;en
Prepared by: Nahla Nassar
MWNF Working Number: UK2 30
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