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Lot Essay
This felt appliqué is a bravura piece of patchwork executed in intricate detail over a huge area. The design very clearly relates to that of Egyptian tent hangings which have been woven along traditional lines for centuries, and continue to be made today in Cairo. A very good 19th century example was sold in these Rooms 23 October 2007, lot 33. The present panel shares with the Egyptian the same basic layout, and a close examination of the architectural details shows that they all derive from Mamluk original designs. From a design point of view the one major difference is that the inscription is illiterate where the best quality Egyptian originals have very clearly legible inscriptions in very elegant calligraphy.
While the Egyptian panels are made using pieces of dyed cotton, here the design is made up from brightly coloured felted plainwoven wool, a material that is not found in Egypt. Patchwork using similar wool is however a feature found in early Egypt, such as a woven blazon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Rogers Fund, 1972.120.3) and at a later date it is found elsewhere in the Ottoman empire. A 17th century prayer panel in this technique was among the items captured from the Ottoman army after the 1688 siege of Vienna and is now in Karlsruhe (Ernst Petrasch, Reinhard Sänger, Eva Zimmermann and Hans Georg Majer, Die Karlsruher Türkenbeute, Munich, 1991, no.283, pp.320-1). Both historical examples share with this panel not only the basic technique, but also the attachment of a thread of contrasting colour to make the outlines clearer. This technique continued to be used in Eastern Europe into the 19th century, as the frequently extremely fine panels attributed to Banja Luka in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina bear witness.
The present panel appears never to have been intended for use as a tent wall since there are no holes for tent posts that would have held it up. It is probable therefore that it was made as a special commission, as a wall decoration, using a design from Mamluk Egypt, most probably woven in Ottoman Eastern Europe.
While the Egyptian panels are made using pieces of dyed cotton, here the design is made up from brightly coloured felted plainwoven wool, a material that is not found in Egypt. Patchwork using similar wool is however a feature found in early Egypt, such as a woven blazon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Rogers Fund, 1972.120.3) and at a later date it is found elsewhere in the Ottoman empire. A 17th century prayer panel in this technique was among the items captured from the Ottoman army after the 1688 siege of Vienna and is now in Karlsruhe (Ernst Petrasch, Reinhard Sänger, Eva Zimmermann and Hans Georg Majer, Die Karlsruher Türkenbeute, Munich, 1991, no.283, pp.320-1). Both historical examples share with this panel not only the basic technique, but also the attachment of a thread of contrasting colour to make the outlines clearer. This technique continued to be used in Eastern Europe into the 19th century, as the frequently extremely fine panels attributed to Banja Luka in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina bear witness.
The present panel appears never to have been intended for use as a tent wall since there are no holes for tent posts that would have held it up. It is probable therefore that it was made as a special commission, as a wall decoration, using a design from Mamluk Egypt, most probably woven in Ottoman Eastern Europe.