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Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt

A selection of 10th to 16th century embroideries from the Newberry collection at the Ashmolean by Marianne Ellis (published Oxford, 2001).

Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt by Marianne Ellis

Publications online: 66 objects

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Textile fragment with band of cartouches, spirals, and stars

  • Literature notes

    The four repeating patterns illustrated here [EA1984.443, EA1984.329.a, EA1984.426, EA1984.435] provide us with a glimpse of some of the designs and stitches worked as narrow bands of decoration. The usual format for arranging bands of embroidery on square and rectangular cloths, as seen on the Newberry pieces, leaves the centre ground fabric plain and places three parallel bands along two opposite sides and one across each of the other two. However, two samplers in the collection show how patterns should be adjusted to turn corners, so it is clear that some embroideries did have continuous borders.

    The embroidery worked on the bands was sometimes very fine indeed; an example in the collection is even finer than that seen on No.60 [EA1984.329.a], where an interlace pattern has been carried out in stem stitch over a count of four threads on a cloth with a thread count of 36 to one centimetre. The patterns, colours and stitches illustrated here demonstrate the refined nature of this embroidery from the later period of Mamluk rule in Egypt.
  • Details

    Associated place
    Africa Egypt (find spot)
    AfricaEgyptCairoCairo Fustat (possible find spot)
    Near East (place of creation)
    Date
    Mamluk Period (1250 - 1517)
    Material and technique
    linen, embroidered with light-blue and dark-blue silk; needle-woven drawn-thread openwork in yellow silk
    Dimensions
    28 x 6.5 cm max. (length x width)
    embroidery band 28 x 1.8 cm (length x width)
    along length/width 18 / 20 threads/cm (thread count)
    ground fabric 0.05 cm max. (thread diameter)
    ground fabric 0.03 cm min. (thread diameter)
    additional fibre, embroidery 0.03 cm (thread diameter)
    Material index
    organicvegetalfibreflax linen,
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Presented by Professor Percy Newberry, 1941.
    Accession no.
    EA1984.435
  • Further reading

    Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, in association with Greenville: Curious Works Press, 2001), no. 62 on p. 88, illus. p. 89

    Barnes, Ruth and Marianne Ellis, ‘The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries’, 4 vols, 2001, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, cat. vol. iii, illus. vol. i

Location

    • currently in research collection

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.

 

Publications online

  • Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt by Marianne Ellis

    Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt

    The four repeating patterns illustrated here [EA1984.443, EA1984.329.a, EA1984.426, EA1984.435] provide us with a glimpse of some of the designs and stitches worked as narrow bands of decoration. The usual format for arranging bands of embroidery on square and rectangular cloths, as seen on the Newberry pieces, leaves the centre ground fabric plain and places three parallel bands along two opposite sides and one across each of the other two. However, two samplers in the collection show how patterns should be adjusted to turn corners, so it is clear that some embroideries did have continuous borders.

    The embroidery worked on the bands was sometimes very fine indeed; an example in the collection is even finer than that seen on No.60 [EA1984.329.a], where an interlace pattern has been carried out in stem stitch over a count of four threads on a cloth with a thread count of 36 to one centimetre. The patterns, colours and stitches illustrated here demonstrate the refined nature of this embroidery from the later period of Mamluk rule in Egypt.
  • The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries by Ruth Barnes and Marianne Ellis

    The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries

    A band of cartouches, four-armed spirals and stars, outlines in dark blue embroidery. The background is filled with very small stylized plants embroidered in dark blue double running stitch. One cartouche and the stars have further geometric patterning in light blue pattern darning stitch, while two cartouches have remains of needle-woven bars stitched in yellow embroidery, as part of drawn-thread work.

    The width of the band is 1.8 cm.
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