Explore the beauty and variety of Eastern Art objects on display in the Textiles gallery.
This impressive sampler displays a combination of patterns in double-running stitch and drawn thread that must have provided a good reference for both apprentice and skilled embroiderers. Radio-carbon analysis has confirmed a 14th-century date, suggesting that embroidery techniques and motifs were already being documented at this time. Some of the patterns used on Mamluk textiles eventually spread to Europe and can be seen in 16th-century German and Italian pattern books.
Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, in association with Greenville: Curious Works Press, 2001), no. 28 on p. 44, pp. 9 & 46, illus. pp. 44-45
Barnes, Ruth and Marianne Ellis, ‘The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries’, 4 vols, 2001, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, cat. vol. iii, illus. vol. i
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Objects may have since been removed or replaced from a gallery. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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