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The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries

An unpublished catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Islamic embroideries from Egyptologist Percy Newberry, by Ruth Barnes and Marianne Ellis.

The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries by Ruth Barnes and Marianne Ellis

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Textile fragment with band of stars

  • Literature notes

    A band with blue eight-pointed stars, each containing a four-armed spiral, and a hexagon with small blue S-shapes and a single yellow S-shape. This and the outlines of the stars are embroidered in yellow satin stitch, the background is embroidered in brown pattern darning running stitch. The interior of the stars is done in very fine blue darning stitch, while the hexagon was filled with pulled work with wrapping stitch in diagonal rows.

    The band is 3.5 cm wide. The embroidery is extremely fine, and the pulled work has partly disintegrated.

    The textile has been radiocarbon dated to 1480 +/- 40.
  • 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 brown, blue, and yellow silk; pulled-thread openwork
    Dimensions
    18 x 7.3 cm max. (length x width)
    along length/width 25 / 24 threads/cm (thread count)
    embroidery band 3.5 cm (width)
    ground fabric 0.05 cm max. (thread diameter)
    ground fabric 0.03 cm min. (thread diameter)
    additional fibre, embroidery 0.05 cm max. (thread diameter)
    additional fibre, embroidery 0.03 cm min. (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.
    EA1984.472
  • Further reading

    Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, in association with Greenville: Curious Works Press, 2001), no. 56 on p. 84, p. 87, illus. p. 85

    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

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Collection trails

Publications online

  • Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt by Marianne Ellis
  • The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries by Ruth Barnes and Marianne Ellis

    The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries

    A band with blue eight-pointed stars, each containing a four-armed spiral, and a hexagon with small blue S-shapes and a single yellow S-shape. This and the outlines of the stars are embroidered in yellow satin stitch, the background is embroidered in brown pattern darning running stitch. The interior of the stars is done in very fine blue darning stitch, while the hexagon was filled with pulled work with wrapping stitch in diagonal rows.

    The band is 3.5 cm wide. The embroidery is extremely fine, and the pulled work has partly disintegrated.

    The textile has been radiocarbon dated to 1480 +/- 40.
Notice

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