KAIRO FRAGMENT 177 x 126 cm (5ft. 10in. x 4ft. 2in.) Egypt, 16th century Condition: fragment, several repairs and age-related signs of use Warp: wool, weft: wool, pile: wool.

The rugs made the territories belonging to the Mamluk sultans have a number of special features, technical and aesthetic, that set them apart from all other carpets made in the 16th-17th centuries. The threads out of which all textiles and carpets are made were spun together in the other direction in Egypt than in all other countries: S-spun and Z-plied. There are inventory records showing that mention Cairene carpets in European inventories in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Ottomans captured the Mamluk domains in 1517 and it is the Ottoman design repertoire that is depicted in this rug, which woven on wool and without any silk probably dates to the late 16th century. The ground is typically dyed with insect dyes, either lac similar to Mamluk rugs or cochineal as is seen here. These dyes tend to have a corrosive effect on the wool. The variety of colours on this fragment are more apparent than on many fragments and the design represents the full transition to floral motifs from geometric.