The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
above: Child’s tunic: late fourteenth to early<br />
fifteenth century (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).<br />
196 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> and <strong>Architecture</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Islamic</strong> <strong>Cairo</strong><br />
are intricate and concentrated<br />
in design. One shows a delicate<br />
interlacing medallion amid<br />
tightly wound scrolls set with<br />
interlaced patterns based on<br />
plaited Kufic. <strong>The</strong> lobed shape <strong>of</strong><br />
the medallion and the interlacing<br />
arabesque is similar in composition<br />
and design to contemporary inlaid Ayyubid<br />
metalware. <strong>The</strong> other embroidered Ayyubid<br />
inscription is set in dense scrollwork and<br />
light, delicate embroidered filigree. It pos-<br />
sibly decorated a shawl and reads, ‘Love it<br />
is that keeps the eloquent man from<br />
speech’. 43 <strong>The</strong> sentiment expressed in the<br />
inscription is very different from the<br />
formal honorific titles found in<br />
embroidered tiraz. As for embroidered<br />
Mamluk inscriptions, they reveal<br />
expressions <strong>of</strong> good wishes similar to<br />
those that adorn pottery and metalware. A<br />
fragment in the Newberry collection states in bold unadorned red<br />
Thuluth script, ‘Glory and eternity to the owner’, and in the Musée<br />
d’<strong>Art</strong> et d’Histoire, Geneva, there is a beautiful embroidered<br />
Mamluk inscription that reads, ‘Happiness and eternal prosperity’.<br />
It is embroidered in Naskhi script set against an intricate<br />
arabesque <strong>of</strong> plaited motifs similar to those seen in the illustrated<br />
Ayyubid fragment. 44<br />
In contrast to these fine scrolling arabesques, there are a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> items in the Newberry collection showing an interesting repertoire<br />
<strong>of</strong> angular geometric designs, including hexagons, lozenges, hooks,<br />
and S and Z motifs. <strong>The</strong>y are a part <strong>of</strong> an international language <strong>of</strong><br />
geometric design and appear in contemporary Seljuk carpets. Among<br />
early examples is an Ayyubid sampler. <strong>The</strong>se provided a selection <strong>of</strong><br />
patterns for prospective customers to choose from, and most intriguing<br />
in this example is the appearance <strong>of</strong> birds and fish in the<br />
otherwise iconoclastic art <strong>of</strong> the Ayyubids. Another Ayyubid sampler<br />
shows a selection <strong>of</strong> V-shaped patterns with pendants designed to<br />
border the neck slits <strong>of</strong> garments. Such patterns and formats endured<br />
well into the Mamluk era and an example can be seen on a wellpreserved<br />
child’s tunic in the Newberry collection. This is one <strong>of</strong><br />
those rare specimens found intact showing the simple T-shape <strong>of</strong>