Name of Object:

Fragment of woven linen and silk

Location:

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

National Museums of Scotland (NMS)

 About National Museums of Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh

Date of Object:

Hegira 570–96 / AD third quarter of the 12th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A.1979.161

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Woven linen and silk.

Dimensions:

Length 24 cm, width 9 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Fatimid

Provenance:

Egypt.

Description:

A woven linen and silk slit-tapestry fragment in cream, golden yellow, crimson and blue. The design consists of three superposed bands, the uppermost and the lowest identical in appearance. The design is tripartite, with two bands of naskhi script rendered in red on a gold background, and flanking a gold-coloured central guilloche band outlined in red with gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs in the centre of every loop. Narrow stripes with wavy patterning complete the pattern. The inscriptions in the epigraphic panels read: ‘… wa al-iqbal’ (‘… and prosperity’). In between these two bands is a broader panel with a complex, gathered linear interlaced design in gold and red which employs individual gold-coloured rabbit-like motifs set against a red ground.

View Short Description

Fatimid Egypt was famous for the production of sophisticated silk textiles produced in court-sponsored workshops known as ‘tiraz’ workshops. Most were fashioned into royal garments for the sultan and his court or robes of honour to be bestowed on worthy courtiers, dignitaries or foreign diplomats.

How date and origin were established:

The decorative style of this textile fragment places it within the category of very late Fatimid textiles, characterized by the exclusive use of golden yellow and red, together with the complexity of the interlace designs which covers the central band completely. The inscription in naskhi script also helps to place the production of this piece within the reign of the last Fatimid rulers. Furthermore this item has been dated on the basis of its striking similarity to a linen and silk fragment in the Bouvier Collection in Geneva, which is dated 570–96 / third quarter of the 12th century.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased by the NMS in 1979 from Spink and Son Ltd, London.

How provenance was established:

It is assumed that textile fragments with this type of decoration and epigraphic detail were produced in Fatimid Egypt. This is due to so many having been found in burials and excavations throughout Upper Egypt in particular.

Selected bibliography:

Tissus d’Egypte: Témoins du Monde Arabe VIIIe – Xve siècles, Geneva / Paris 1993, p.259, cat. no. 158 (for discussion of similar piece).
Kendrick, A. F., Catalogue of Muhammadan Textiles of the Medieval Period, London 1924, p.18, cat. no. 887, plate iv (for a very similar piece).

Citation of this web page:

Ulrike Al-Khamis "Fragment of woven linen and silk" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus03;9;en

Prepared by: Ulrike Al-Khamis
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: UK3 09