Two Mamluk Egyptian bags

This is an embroidered drawstring bag from between the 13th-16th centuries. It is tabby woven linen embroidered with pink, green, blue, yellow and ochre silk in an eyelet (or possibly a double faggot) stitch. The size of the bag is 15.8 cm by 13.5 cm. It is in the Museum of Fine Arts.

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This is also a round embroidered bag made between the 13th & 16th century. It is tabby woven linen embroidered with blue and brown silk in chain and darning stitches (or possibly another type of stitch). This bag has a linen tassel attached with three knots at the end of the drawstring. The bag is in the Museum of Fine Arts.

Pattern darning chart

This textile is 9.7cm by 10.2cm. Made in Egypt between the 13th and 14th century, it is plain weave linen embroidered in red silk floss in running stitch and pattern darning. The textile is currently in the Art Institute of Chicago.

I have charted up the design and it is available for download in pdf format-

artinstitutepatterndarning (PDF)

Please let me know how it goes.

Technicalities- there are 66 threads between the top pattern darning and main pattern. The straight lines are the running stitch.

A 12th-14th century Egyptian tunic

This tunic was thought to have been made between 1100-1399 C.E. which covers the Fatimid and Ayyubid rulers of Egypt. The shirt is embroidered linen. Unfortunately there is no other information on the Victoria & Albert Museum website. The item is currently not being shown. Scrolling in it is possible to see that the motifs look like fish and “lollywrappers”. Both of those motifs look to be done in pattern darning with a little running stitch highlighting the seams.

The construction of the shirt is the same as the shirt previously mentioned in the post “An Egyptian Child’s tunic from the Mamluk Period”. That shirt can be found in the Ashmolean Museum.

Different but similar embroideries

This is thought to be a fragment of a garment, made between the 13th and 14th century in al -A’zam in Upper Egypt. At this time the rulers would have been Mamluk. This is a linen even weave, with silk blackwork, pulled thread and openwork. The openwork is kloster blocks with doves’ eye stitch. The detail- The pattern has been charted by Mathilde Eschenbach which she also used in a project. The textile is in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

This embroidery is very similar to the previous textile with some small differences- This textile is unfortunately in pieces, but the design is on linen out of blue and yellow silk. There is blackwork, pulled thread and openwork like the first textile but this embroidery also has silk satin stitching. The pattern is also repeated like the first textile, which can be seen in this piece- The main piece is 17.3 x 11 cm and can be found in the Ashmolean. The other pieces can be found in the Ashmolean Museum.

Kohl containers

This is a Fatimid rock crystal Kohl container, made between 939–1010 C.E. The jar would have had a glass rod in it, to apply the Kohl, which was made out of burnt frankincense, almond shells or Safflower plants. This is a Mamluk ivory inlaid with niello Kohl container, made between the 14th–15th century. The applicator was attached by chain. This is an Ottoman cast silver Kohl bottle. It is dated to 1594 C.E. and was hammered and incised. The applicator stick was attached to the bottle with a chain, through the “tail” of the bird.

Taken from Museum With No Frontiers website.

Mamluk heraldic embroidery

This is a wool and plain weave appliqué heraldic design made in the years 1468–96 C.E., during the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbey. The size of the emblem is 22.9 cm by 30.5 cm and thought to be from either clothing or furniture of a courtier. The details of the diamond at the top- The details of the goblet at the bottom of the emblem- The textile is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This is a kite shaped emblem, which shows earlier Fatimid influence. The textile is blue dyed linen, embroidered with red and yellow silk in a slanted counted stitch. The details of the emblem show the stitches used, including chain stitch around the item within the emblem- The size of the embroidery is 9.5 x 6.5 cm, with the person wearing this emblem to have been the cup bearer (the goblet) and master of robes (the yellow diamond). It is though to have been made in the late 14th century, and thought to have decorated a corner of the cloth (possibly from a saddle cloth). The textile is in the Ashmolean Museum.
This emblem is for the Jukandar, or keeper of the Sultan’s polo sticks. The person who wore this also bore his cup at the games. The textile is 18 cm by 10 cm and also 14th century. Taken from the Eternal Egypt website.
This 14th century emblem is of appliquéd crossed swords, or sword-bearer. This means the person wearing it would have been in charge of the armory. Taken from the Eternal Egypt website.
Recommended Reading
Islamic Heraldry: An Introduction by David B. Appleton. Via Medievalists.net.
The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Volume 2 by Jonathan M. Bloom, Sheila Blair. Via Google Books.
Rethinking Mamluk Textiles by Bethany J. Walker. Via Google Docs.

Mamluk salwar

These are thought to be pants or salwar worn during the Mamluk period in Egypt. This piece is 39.5 x 27 cm linen, with pattern darning in silk. The colours were thought to be light brown, dark brown and blue. There are no evidence of fastenings on the salwar, so it is thought that were sewn together or left open.
This is the detail of the top, probably close to the knee.

This is the bottom of the embroidery, around the ankle.

The textile is currently in the Ashmolean. I have charted up the design and will put it up on-line soon.

A Mamluk finial

This is a Mamluk finial, a decoration that would adorn a standard taken into battle. It would identify different units of warriors. This finial is made from steel, with a height of 51.3 cm and a width of 11.7 cm. It has the name of Sayf al-Din Tarabay on it and a quote from the Qur’an. Sayf al-Din Tarabay was a Syrian emir, who built a well known funerary complex in Cairo. Currently the item is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but there is not much more information there. This Mamluk finial was thought to have been a war prize from the battle of 1517 between the last of the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ottomans. The Ottomans also used finial flags, as written in the article Decorative Motifs Used on the Ottoman Flag Finials by Jaroslav Martykán. Via Google Docs.

A complicated Mamluk blackwork

I was reading a book called “The Art of Embroidery” by Marie Schuette & Sigrud Muller-Christensen, published 1963 by Thomas & Hudson, London. On page 32, on the top right was a Mamluk blackwork. The detail of the picture- There is not much information in the book on the embroidery. All that is given is that it is a fragment of a robe, the actual size 56 by 42cm, in the Berlin Staatliches Museum. It is done in dark gray silk on linen in running and double-running stitch. It is one of the more complex Mamluk blackwork I have seen, with no information on where on a robe it would go. I have charted up the design, which is available for download in single page PDF format.
SchuetteMullerChristensen PDF
Please let me know how your embroidery goes.

A second towel embroidery challenge

Over a year ago, I charted a towel from the Ashmolean. This work can be downloaded from the original post “A Blackwork Challenge” or on the embroidery charts page. Recently I found another Mamluk towel, around a century older, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
The textile fragment is thought to have been made between the 13th-14th century, with the dimensions of 9.9 cm by 18.7 cm. It is very similar to the other towel I have previously charted but there are some noticeable differences. As the picture is not a colour picture, the colour of the silk used is unknown but would have been a dark colour. Possibly blue or brown. It looks as though there is a tiraz under the birds and trees. If you can read it, please give a translation. I can’t read Arabic but I have a suspicion that it is a decorative tiraz and not to be read.

The chart is a single page PDF document.
Met towel PDF
Please let me know how your embroidery goes.