Lot Essay
Warp: wool, golden beige, probably dyed S3Z
Weft: wool, golden beige, probably dyed, S3Z, three shoots alternating, approximately equally wavy
Pile: wool, S3, some S4, asymmetric knots open left, up to 20 degrees alternate warp depression, H6xV6
Sides: one cable of three body warps with weft return selvage
Ends: both top and bottom not original
Colors: Four, wine red, pale blue, pale green, pale yellow
Mamluk carpets from Egypt have long captured the attention of carpet scholars and collectors since they are among the oldest and most unique of the classical carpets surviving today. Although there has been exhaustive research and study of Mamluk carpets, their complete history and development as an art form still somewhat eludes us today. Various attributions have been put forth, such as Turkey, Persia and Morocco, yet it is generally accepted today that they were woven in Egypt and possibly Cairo, despite the fact that there is no known precedent or tradition of carpet weaving in this area.
In the 15th century during the reign of Sultan Qa'it-bay, there was a high period of artistic creativity in Egypt and it is thought that a weaving tradition was established at that time. As a group, Mamluk carpets are characterized by a limited color palette and intricate kaleidoscopic or mosaic-like elements creating a juxtaposition of color and form. They also share unusual structural characteristics that distinguish them from the carpets of other cultures. The soft, lustrous wool found in Mamluk carpets is 'S' (clockwise) spun and 'Z' (anti-clockwise)-plied whereas almost all other Eastern carpets are constructed from 'Z'-spun/'S'-plied wool. Louisa Bellinger has shown that the technical characteristics of the Mamluk wool is consistent with the characteristics of Egyptian wool used for centuries (see Kuhnel, Ernst and Bellinger, Louisa: Cariene Rugs and Others Technically Related, Washington, DC, 1957, p.80).
Although Mamluk carpets bear no stylistic or formal similarities with Persian or Anatolian weaving traditions, there are basic resemblances to other artistic mediums of the time period. There is a strong correspondence to contemporary manuscript illumination, bookbinding, tiles and mosaics. The strongest similarity is the extraordinary correlation between the format of Mamluk carpets and Egyptian fountain courtyards. Mamluks also share typical design elements, especially the ubiquitous papyrus umbel which is found as a filler ornament in the cartouches and octagons of the present example. Lancet leaves are also in abundance, as well as, octofoils and borders of alternating cartouches and rosettes. This prolific period of Mamluk weaving was short lived as Egypt was conquered by the Ottomans in 1517. Carpet production, however, continued after the Ottoman take over with carpets of the so-called Ottoman Carienne type. It is also believed that carpets of Mamluk design continued to be woven during this period.
The most striking element found in the present example is the unusual occurence of the pair of frontal figures in two of the spandrels which is wholly unique to this piece. The frozen quality of combining the torso and shoulders in frontal view and the head and legs in profile has survived in other Egyptian artistic mediums for 2500 years. It is not the way that these figures are depicted in this carpet that is unusual, but rather that they are depicted at all--there are no other published Mamluk carpets with figural representations. However, it is not unusual to have naturalistic depictions of objects; there are many Mamluks with realistic vases and cypress and palm trees. A well known example of a realistic depiction is in a carpet of Mamluk design, perhaps Moroccan, of the arms of an emir of Sultan Qa'it Bay's entourage (see Hali, Vol.4, No. 1, 1981, p. 67, fig.3).
Despite their basic uniformity, Mamluk carpets have been divided into several sub-groups, the simplest being by size. The present carpet falls into the Mamluks of large size but is differentiated from the group by its design format. Unlike most large carpets which usually have three or more medallions and are narrower in width, our example has a single medallion and is more rectangular in proportion. The single medallion and rectangular format is more commonly encountered in smaller Mamluk carpets.
Weft: wool, golden beige, probably dyed, S3Z, three shoots alternating, approximately equally wavy
Pile: wool, S3, some S4, asymmetric knots open left, up to 20 degrees alternate warp depression, H6xV6
Sides: one cable of three body warps with weft return selvage
Ends: both top and bottom not original
Colors: Four, wine red, pale blue, pale green, pale yellow
Mamluk carpets from Egypt have long captured the attention of carpet scholars and collectors since they are among the oldest and most unique of the classical carpets surviving today. Although there has been exhaustive research and study of Mamluk carpets, their complete history and development as an art form still somewhat eludes us today. Various attributions have been put forth, such as Turkey, Persia and Morocco, yet it is generally accepted today that they were woven in Egypt and possibly Cairo, despite the fact that there is no known precedent or tradition of carpet weaving in this area.
In the 15th century during the reign of Sultan Qa'it-bay, there was a high period of artistic creativity in Egypt and it is thought that a weaving tradition was established at that time. As a group, Mamluk carpets are characterized by a limited color palette and intricate kaleidoscopic or mosaic-like elements creating a juxtaposition of color and form. They also share unusual structural characteristics that distinguish them from the carpets of other cultures. The soft, lustrous wool found in Mamluk carpets is 'S' (clockwise) spun and 'Z' (anti-clockwise)-plied whereas almost all other Eastern carpets are constructed from 'Z'-spun/'S'-plied wool. Louisa Bellinger has shown that the technical characteristics of the Mamluk wool is consistent with the characteristics of Egyptian wool used for centuries (see Kuhnel, Ernst and Bellinger, Louisa: Cariene Rugs and Others Technically Related, Washington, DC, 1957, p.80).
Although Mamluk carpets bear no stylistic or formal similarities with Persian or Anatolian weaving traditions, there are basic resemblances to other artistic mediums of the time period. There is a strong correspondence to contemporary manuscript illumination, bookbinding, tiles and mosaics. The strongest similarity is the extraordinary correlation between the format of Mamluk carpets and Egyptian fountain courtyards. Mamluks also share typical design elements, especially the ubiquitous papyrus umbel which is found as a filler ornament in the cartouches and octagons of the present example. Lancet leaves are also in abundance, as well as, octofoils and borders of alternating cartouches and rosettes. This prolific period of Mamluk weaving was short lived as Egypt was conquered by the Ottomans in 1517. Carpet production, however, continued after the Ottoman take over with carpets of the so-called Ottoman Carienne type. It is also believed that carpets of Mamluk design continued to be woven during this period.
The most striking element found in the present example is the unusual occurence of the pair of frontal figures in two of the spandrels which is wholly unique to this piece. The frozen quality of combining the torso and shoulders in frontal view and the head and legs in profile has survived in other Egyptian artistic mediums for 2500 years. It is not the way that these figures are depicted in this carpet that is unusual, but rather that they are depicted at all--there are no other published Mamluk carpets with figural representations. However, it is not unusual to have naturalistic depictions of objects; there are many Mamluks with realistic vases and cypress and palm trees. A well known example of a realistic depiction is in a carpet of Mamluk design, perhaps Moroccan, of the arms of an emir of Sultan Qa'it Bay's entourage (see Hali, Vol.4, No. 1, 1981, p. 67, fig.3).
Despite their basic uniformity, Mamluk carpets have been divided into several sub-groups, the simplest being by size. The present carpet falls into the Mamluks of large size but is differentiated from the group by its design format. Unlike most large carpets which usually have three or more medallions and are narrower in width, our example has a single medallion and is more rectangular in proportion. The single medallion and rectangular format is more commonly encountered in smaller Mamluk carpets.