Textiles & Rugs

Textiles are one of the most diverse types of objects from the Islamic lands. They include some of the most valuable and refined luxury goods produced, highly prized by their owners at the time and among the most prestigious diplomatic gifts and rewards for service at court. Egypt, Iran, Turkey and India produced some of the most spectacular woven textiles for garments and cushions, using silk and metal threads to luxurious effect in figural as well as calligraphic, floral and other designs.
In the early mediaeval period, Egypt was famous for ‘tiraz’ textiles, a series of types which incorporated inscription bands. Whether integrally woven, embroidered or written with pen and ink, these inscriptions generally took the form of fine calligraphy and often included the name of the Caliph and the factory (tiraz) in which they were produced.
Knotted pile carpets have a history in Asia which goes back beyond the fourth century BC. The Iranian lands and Turkey are justly famous for their production of carpets, with The al-Sabah Collection holding some two dozen fragments of 2nd – 4th centuries carpets from the region. These are in addition to many examples from later Islamic centuries. Thr distinctive ‘Mamluk’ carpets from 15th and early 16th centuries CE, Cairo are also well represented in the collection.

LNS 219 T v2

LNS 219 T

Fragment from a linen robe with a tiraz inscription invoking...
LNS 1094 T

LNS 1094 T

Cotton shawl embroidered with vegetal designs and a lover’s lament...
LNS 443 T a-b (a)

LNS 443 T

Silk panel from a garment with pairs of sphinxes, and...
LNS 34 T

LNS 34 T

Fragmentary silk textile composed as a series of horizontal bands,...
LNS-13-R-v1

LNS 13 R

Woollen carpet of geometric layout, featuring a large eight-pointed star,...
LNS 11 T

LNS 11 T

Silk velvet textile fragment in a pattern of staggered rows...
LNS 98 T

LNS 98 T

Linen textile panel embroidered in a pattern of tulips and...
LNS 119 T

LNS 119 T

Silk velvet textile fragment in a pattern of staggered rows...
LNS 26 R v1

LNS 26 R

Woollen carpet, the field with staggered rows of ogival and...
LNS 15 R v1

LNS 15 R

Woollen “Shrub” carpet, the field of horizontal orientation, both the...
LNS 10 R v1

LNS 10 R

Pile carpet laid out as a four-section garden (Persian, chahar...
LNS 114 T v2

LNS 114 T

Talismanic shirt with decorative roundels, escutcheons and a cartouche filled...
LNS 27 R v1

LNS 27 R

Fragmentary multiple-niche pile prayer carpet (saff), the lower fields of...
LNS 982 T a-e (d) v2

LNS 982 T a

Linen, silk and silver wire textile fragment with rows of...
LNS 14 T a-b

LNS 14 T a,b

Two fragments from the same silk textile (from a garment...
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