With its repeated diamonds against a fret pattern ground, this small textile demonstrates the versatility of pattern darning, one of the prevalent embroidery techniques in Mamluk Egypt (1260-1517). Although this has been compared to handkerchiefs, of which numerous fragments exist in the Ashmolean Museum’s Newberry Collection, it has been suggested that this cloth was most probably used as a decorative cover as the stitching is only visible on one face. Indeed, the prominence given to its decoration and its compact and precise execution suggest the cloth’s special quality.
Ellis, Marianne, Embroideries and Samplers from Islamic Egypt (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, in association with Greenville: Curious Works Press, 2001), no. 22 on. p. 38, illus. p. 38
Barnes, Ruth and Marianne Ellis, ‘The Newberry Collection of Islamic Embroideries’, 4 vols, 2001, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, cat. vol. ii, illus. vol. i
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