amluk rugs are considered by many to be among the most beautiful of any

M rugs ever created. The brilliant reds, greens, and blues (figs. 1 and 2) are
reminiscent of rubies, emeralds and sapphires; whether this was an
intentional evocation is not known. But The Textile Museum's holdings of
Mamluk rugs, unparalleled in the world, are truly the "jewels" of the collection.
Simply by virtue of the fact that they date from the late 15th century, Mamluk rugs
comprise one of the most significant groups of classical carpets. Their lustrous wool
and wondrous color, as well as their geometric designs and careful execution,
contribute to the characteristics of a cohesive group from the points of view of
design, structure, materials, color, and layout. Yet, this is also a group for which
many questions remain unanswered.
The emergence of this unique group rests upon no known development of rug-
weaving traditions. Nor is the influence of the three-color geometric patterns of
Mamluk rugs felt in later traditions. In contrast, the weave structure of Mamluk
carpets is retained in Cairene carpets manufactured immediately after the Ottoman
conquest of Egypt in 1517, which share technical characteristics, while reflecting
newly emergent Ottoman floral styles.
Despite such uncertainties of origin and early development, Mamluk rugs show an
exceptionally high degree of uniformity, more so perhaps than in any other group
of rugs prior to industrialization and mechanized production. Two rugs in the
exhibition (figs. 1 and 2) demonstrate consistency of dimension, color, structure
and layout, the proportions of which are determined geometrically. Larger rugs also
show a proportion based on geometry of the circle and the square.
Mamluk rugs of the three-color variety (red, blue, green), as well as those with four,
five and six colors (the primary three plus white, yellow and brown) also
demonstrate similarities of design and layout, as well as consistency in weave struc-
ture and yam preparation. The warps are depressed, which makes identification of
the knot formation diffic~lt (symmetrical and asymmetrical knots on depressed
warps appear identical on visual analysis without actual penetration of the fabric).
The most frequently encountered knot count is 11H x 11 V, ranging from 100-130
knots/square inch, with a fairly consistent count of 22 warps/inch and 22
wefts/inch. This regularity in knot density in the proportion 1: 1, horizontal to
vertical, makes for even-sided polygons such as squares and octagons, as well as cir-
cles and right isosceles triangles of uniform dimension. There are two types of
octograms (eight-pointed stars), both of which play with the geometry of the
square within a circle. The warps, wool, are composed of four strands, S-spun and
Z-plied; most warp sets are dyed green, sometimes arranged in groups forming
stripes. Wefts are often dyed red or pink, and may be two or three shoots. While all
of the pile colors usually show a fair amount of wear, areas of brown pile shows
extensive loss, which is probably the result of a high iron content in the dyebath,
either as mordant or dyestuff.
We do not know where the Egyptian rug-weavers may have obtained the lustrous
wool for these carpets; the quality of ~he wool is distinctly different from that
 Figure r (Derail) Figure 2 (Derail) Figure 3 (Derail)

which appears in Coptic textiles of an earlier age, or garments from the Fayyum
where sheep- rearing has a long histo ry. We do not know who might have design ed
the uniqu e geometric repertory of Mamluk rugs, although it is likely that such
design s were developed in court ateliers that were also involved in preparation of
designs fo r architectural ornament and the illumination of Qur'ans, for which
there are numerous parallels to rug patterns. Yet, there are also elements in
Mamluk rug design that find n o ready parallels among the traditions evident in arts
of the book, oth er objects, or archi tectural decoration. In particular, the umbrella-
like leaf appears to be unique to rug-weaving, where it is combined in groups of
three and five to form clusters, or repeated to form scrolling vines that define both
borders and backgrounds. The red color is also unusual in comparison to oth er
rug-weaving traditions; th e dyestuff lac has been proposed, which would
presumably have been imported fro m India. We do n ot know why the warps were
dyed green, or even where th ese carpets were actually woven. To judge from the
quality of craftsmanship , as well as the consistency of geometric patterns in
relation to the monuments created under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultan
Qaitbay 0468-96 ), it seems reason able to accept the attribution of these carpets
to his reign in the final quarter of the 15th century, and the assumption that they
were likely woven in Cairo under supervision by the court.
An unusual carpet, known from many fragments in two Florentine museums, and
one large fragment at The Textile Museum (fig. 3) con tributes further to the
complexities associated with understanding Mamluk carpets. Four of the fragments
bear the composite blazon of office of an amir, clearly establish ing a link to the
court of Qaitbay. Yet the carpet's technical characteristics, which include its knot
count (7H x 7V) and long pile, its colors, as well as its rich repertory of geometric
compos itions, are distinct from the cohes ive design group that we accept as
Mamluk by attribution.
With major questions concerning wh o wove these carpe ts, under what condition s,
and for whose use, this is a clearly an important rug tradition aboLlt which much is
yet to be learned.
Carol Bier, Research Associate, The Textile Museum
Figure I Housego, Jenny
Carpet in Mamluk geometric style, 70" 1986 'Mamluk' Carpets and North
warp x 52.5" Egypt, Cairo (?), late 15th Africa, Oriental Carpet and
century. The Textile Museum R16.1.1 Textile Studies, II, Carpets of the
Acquired by George Hewitt Myers Mediterranean Countries 1400-
in 1953. 1600, pp. 221-241. Eds. Robert
Figure 2 Pinner and Walter B. Denny.
Carpet in Mamluk geometric style, 70" Hali Publications, London.
warp x 52.5" Egypt, Cairo (?), late 15th King, Donald and David Sylvester
century. Mr. H. Peter Stern and Dr. 1983 The Eastern Carpet in the
Margaret Johns, Mountainville, NY. Western World from the 15th to
Figure 3 the 17th Century. Arts Council
Large carpet fragment with composite of Great Britain, London.
blazon, 90" warp x 89" Egypt or North Kuhnel, Ernst and Louisa Bellinger
Africa, 15th century. The Text~le 1957 Cairene Rugs and Others
Museum 1965.49.1 Museum purchase. Technically Related (15th - 17th
Century). The Textile Museum,
Washington.
The Textile Museum acknowledges
generous support for this exhibition from Mackie, Louise
Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham, Saudi 1983 Woven Status: Mamluk Silks
Aramea, and Sotheby's New York. and Carpets, The Muslim World,
vol. LXXIII, nos. 3-4, pp. 259-
260.
Recommended Readings
Atil, Esin Education Program
1981 Renaissance of Islam: Art of the
Mamluks. Smithsonian Lecture: "Illuminated and Illustrated
Institution Press, Washington. Mamluk Manuscripts"
EsinAtil
Boralevi, Alberto, ed.
1999 Geometrie d'Oriente: Stefano Thursday, April 3, 6:30 pm
Bardini e il tappeto antiea/ A stronghold of culture, intellectual
Oriental Geometries: Stefano activity, and Muslim piety from the 13th
Bardini and the Antique Carpet. to early 16th centuries, the Mamluk
Sillabe, Livorno. Empire produced many outstanding
1986 Three Egyptian Carpets in Italy, artists. Manuscripts, textiles, and other
Oriental Carpet and Textile decorative arts reveal an artistic legacy
Studies, vol. 2, pp. 205-220. rich in geometric patterns, figural
compositions, calligraphy, and floral
1983 The Discovery of Two Great motifs. Art historian Esin Atil will discuss
Carpets: The Cairene Carpets her research on Mamluk manuscripts and
of the Medici, Hali, vol. 5, no. relate them to the carpets in the
3, pp. 282-83. exhibition Mamluk Rugs from Egypt.
Ellis, Charles Grant Dr. Atil has held curatorial posts at the
1988 Oriental Carpets in the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and
Philadelphia Museum of Art. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Fee: $ 7/members; $10/non-members
Philadelphia. [Egyptian and
Syrian carpets, pp. 117-131]. Advance registration required;
call (202) 667-0441, ext. 64.
Farnham, Thomas

-nn
2001 Bardini, Classical Carpets, and
America, Hali, issue 119,
November/December, pp.
75-85.
Grabar, Oleg, ed.
1984 Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic
THE TEXTILE MUSEUM
Art and Architecture. Vol. 2: The
Art of the Mamluks. Yale 2320 S Street, NW
University Press, New Haven Washington DC 20008-4088
and London. www.textilemuseum.org