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).
Publications online: 66 objects
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Textile fragment with heraldic blazon
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Literature notes
This is an example of a composite blazon which developed from the earlier simple ones depicting a single motif. The field has been divided into three compartments: a red chalice has been placed on the central field and a yellow diamond placed beneath. These indicate the amiral offices of the cup- bearer (saki) and the master of the robes (jamdar). Intriguingly, these Islamic devices are contained within a “kite-shaped " shield, a type of shield seen on a Fatimid 12th century drawing of a siege where both sides appear to be equipped with them. One theory is that they were introduced by the Crusader armies. The only recorded example of this particular composite blazon belonged to Amir Kumushbugha al-Hamawi from Syria, dated 1381.
The motif is worked diagonally across the weave of the ground fabric in a slanted counted stitch. In use therefore, the blazon would have lain in a diagonal direction so its most likely position would have been on the corner of a cloth. It could have been part of a cover similar to those depicted in manuscript illustrations, in which Mamluk horsemen are seen performing military exercises on horses wearing decorated saddlecloths. -
Details
- Associated place
- Date
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late 14th century
Mamluk Period (1250 - 1517)
- Material and technique
- linen, dyed blue, and embroidered with red and yellow silk
- Dimensions
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9.5 x 6.5 cm (length x width)
along length/width 18 / 16 threads/cm (thread count)
ground fabric 0.05 cm (thread diameter)
additional fibre, embroidery 0.05 cm (thread diameter)
- Material index
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organic › animal › animal product › silk
- Technique index
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woven › plain woven,assembled › woven › plain woven,dyed,
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Presented by Professor Percy Newberry, 1941.
- Accession no.
- EA1984.86
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Further reading
Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, in association with Greenville: Curious Works Press, 2001), no. 54 on p. 80, illus. p. 81
Barnes, Ruth and Marianne Ellis, ‘The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries’, 4 vols, 2001, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, cat. vol. ii, vol. i p. 16 n. 3, illus. vol. i
Location
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- 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.
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Publications online
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Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt
This is an example of a composite blazon which developed from the earlier simple ones depicting a single motif. The field has been divided into three compartments: a red chalice has been placed on the central field and a yellow diamond placed beneath. These indicate the amiral offices of the cup- bearer (saki) and the master of the robes (jamdar). Intriguingly, these Islamic devices are contained within a “kite-shaped " shield, a type of shield seen on a Fatimid 12th century drawing of a siege where both sides appear to be equipped with them. One theory is that they were introduced by the Crusader armies. The only recorded example of this particular composite blazon belonged to Amir Kumushbugha al-Hamawi from Syria, dated 1381.
The motif is worked diagonally across the weave of the ground fabric in a slanted counted stitch. In use therefore, the blazon would have lain in a diagonal direction so its most likely position would have been on the corner of a cloth. It could have been part of a cover similar to those depicted in manuscript illustrations, in which Mamluk horsemen are seen performing military exercises on horses wearing decorated saddlecloths. -
The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries
A small blazon with a three-tier division; the blazon is shield-shaped. The upper and lower tier are red, the middle one yellow. The middle tier shows a red cup, the lower one a yellow rhombus, representing the 'buqja' (napkin) associated with the master of the robe.
The measurements given above follow the weave, which is diagonal to the design. The height of the blazon is 10 cm.
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