Fragment of a Woodblock Print on Linen
Description
[Mamluk Sultanate (Egypt)] Egypt remained an active hub of textile production and trade under the rule of the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), a Muslim dynasty. In the block-print technology used on this textile, multiple carved wooden blocks impress patterns on cotton or linen fabrics. Artisans used separate blocks to transfer the round medallions, create the stars, and apply the interlocking motif at the fragment’s center. The inner medallion inscription reads “the sultan” in an abbreviated Arabic spelling. Block-printed textiles were in high demand around the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions, with many produced in Egypt and others imported from western India.
Inscriptions (1)
Transcription
al-sultanEnglish description
Cross-references (2)
- Wikidata Q80003521 tier-1
- CMA-id 111410 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.