Carpet

Mamluk carpets are first seen in Venetian paintings dated to the second quarter of the sixteenth century. Production of this type probably started in the mid-fifteenth century and ceased some time in the sixteenth century, when the taste of the Ottoman court replaced that of the Mamluks. Eminent features of Mamluk carpets are the one-, three-, or more rarely five-unit design, with sizes ranging from the single to the largest five-unit formats. An intricate, ingenious combination of a variety of large, centralized geometric designs fills each unit. Smaller geometric and vegetal designs, papyri, rosettes, candelabras, cypress trees, interlaces, arabesques, checkerboard patterns, and abstract motifs complete the repertoire. A limited scale of colors—red, blue, green, and a few other discreet tones—and an asymetrical knot were used. Usually, a lustrous wool was employed, making the surface appear to shimmer and change with the light, a phenomenon aided by the lack of color change between field and border, and probably the reason this design has often been described as "kaleidoscopic." Scholars have pointed out that the layout of the geometric design can be found in certain Coptic textiles, and the papyrus motif in Ancient Egyptian art, but the time of transfer over such a long span of time to the Mamluk dynasty is still obscure.

The central unit contains stars, squares, and octagons surrounded by an angular contour profile, and the combination is repeated in smaller scale in the surrounding field and corner units. Partial outlines of a cross are also seen in the corners, each of which bears an overall or square grid system decorated with crosses. A long rectangular panel containing a row of papyrus plants and stems completes the field design. The classical border shows octagonal medallions alternating with cartouches bordered by two guard bands with either papyrus plants or scrolls on each side.

Corresponding geometric designs on Mamluk architectural decoration would tend to place the date for this carpet in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century.

Carolyn Kane in [Berlin 1981]


Mamluk Carpet

Mamluk carpet production in Cairo began in the mid-fifteenth century and ended sometime in the sixteenth century. It is a curious phenomenon in that its duration was brief and also because Mamluk carpets stand well apart from other major carpet types. Although Egypt had a well-established tradition of textile production, the Egyptian climate was not amenable to raising sheep or weaving rugs of wool foundations. The ruling Mamluks in Egypt were foreign-born, originating from the important rug weaving culture of Turkic peoples, and it appears that they might have created and supported a rug weaving industry in Egypt for cultural and economic reasons. Carpets were an important feature in Mediterranean commerce and examples of Mamluk carpets in Venetian paintings can be seen as early as the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

Mamluk carpets are easily identified by their characteristic features: a limited range of colors, including blue, apple green, and insect-dyed red (and a notable absence of white); an unusual weaving technique; and a distinctive pattern of one-, three-, and five-unit geometric designs. The profusion of smaller geometric and vegetal forms, embellished with the ubiquitous papyrus plant motifs, often obscures the strongly geometric designs of Mamluk carpets and produces a kaleidoscopic effect. The single-unit design of this Mamluk carpet also recalls contemporary examples of Mamluk octagonal wooden ceilings.

Aimee Froom in [Walker et al. 1994]

George and Florence Blumenthal, Paris and New York (by 1935–41; bequeathed to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Oriental Rugs and Textiles," May 13–September 14, 1935, no. 15.

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 119.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Guide to an Exhibition of Oriental Rugs and Textiles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1935. no. 15, p. 25, ill. (b/w).

Dimand, Maurice S., and Jean Mailey. Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973. no. 99, pp. 130, 195, ill. fig. 180 (b/w).

"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 64, pp. 162–63, ill. (b/w).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 119, pp. 282–83, ill. (b/w).