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Lot Essay
Qur'an III, sura al-imran, vv.95-96.
The Holy Ka'ba in Mecca is covered with a new kiswa each year on the 10th Dhu’l-Hijja, coinciding with the hajj. A tradition dating back to pre-Islamic times, its essential form and function has remained constant, though over the centuries much has changed in its detail and execution. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad and through to early 'Abbasid times it consisted simply of a plain white cloth. Nasr 'Abbasi 1160-1207 changed this to green and later to black, and from then on the tradition of using a black kiswa became fixed. The embroidered border, now so characteristic of the kiswa, was only introduced in 1340 by the Bahri Mamluk ruler of Cairo, Sultan Hassan.
Throughout Mamluk times (13th-16th centuries) it was made in workshops in Egypt, from whence it was carried on one of the major routes to Mecca. The following year, the cover was taken down, cut into pieces and its epigraphic panels either kept by the sultan or given as gifts to the elite. After the conquest of Cairo in AH 923⁄1517 AD, the Ottoman sultan, as caliph, had the honour of dressing the Ka'ba, and it continued to be made in Egypt up to the early 20th century.
These impressive Ka’ba textiles record the transitioning of the production of the kiswa to Mecca from Egypt. From 1817, the kiswa was produced in a factory established in Kharanfash, Cairo. This continued up until 1927 when King ‘Abd al-Aziz established a factory in Mecca. It was woven in Mecca from 1927-1931 and again from 1933-36 when it reverted to Egyptian manufacture. Both of these bands of the hizam were from the same covering sharing checked spandrels enclosing the calligraphic inscription. A further, although smaller, comparable fragment was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 8 October 2008, lot 30.
The Holy Ka'ba in Mecca is covered with a new kiswa each year on the 10th Dhu’l-Hijja, coinciding with the hajj. A tradition dating back to pre-Islamic times, its essential form and function has remained constant, though over the centuries much has changed in its detail and execution. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad and through to early 'Abbasid times it consisted simply of a plain white cloth. Nasr 'Abbasi 1160-1207 changed this to green and later to black, and from then on the tradition of using a black kiswa became fixed. The embroidered border, now so characteristic of the kiswa, was only introduced in 1340 by the Bahri Mamluk ruler of Cairo, Sultan Hassan.
Throughout Mamluk times (13th-16th centuries) it was made in workshops in Egypt, from whence it was carried on one of the major routes to Mecca. The following year, the cover was taken down, cut into pieces and its epigraphic panels either kept by the sultan or given as gifts to the elite. After the conquest of Cairo in AH 923⁄1517 AD, the Ottoman sultan, as caliph, had the honour of dressing the Ka'ba, and it continued to be made in Egypt up to the early 20th century.
These impressive Ka’ba textiles record the transitioning of the production of the kiswa to Mecca from Egypt. From 1817, the kiswa was produced in a factory established in Kharanfash, Cairo. This continued up until 1927 when King ‘Abd al-Aziz established a factory in Mecca. It was woven in Mecca from 1927-1931 and again from 1933-36 when it reverted to Egyptian manufacture. Both of these bands of the hizam were from the same covering sharing checked spandrels enclosing the calligraphic inscription. A further, although smaller, comparable fragment was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 8 October 2008, lot 30.