Medieval textiles I
Egypt, Persian and Mesopotamia, Spain and North Africa
(Medieval textiles I
Egypt, Persian and Mesopotamia, Spain and North Africa)
Karel Otavsky, Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Salim

This volume describes around one-third of the medieval textiles held by the Abegg Foundation. In the introduction, Karel Otavsky, Curator at the Abegg Foundation, gives a general account of the survival and inventory of medieval textiles. In the first part of the catalogue, Muhammad Abbas Muhammad Salim, Textile Curator at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, deals with a group of fabrics with woven and embroidered decor from Egypt, mostly dating from the era of the Fatimid Caliphs (969-1171). The 69 catalogue numbers in which woven inscriptions are described, with an accompanying commentary, are introduced by a review of medieval textile art in Egypt. In the second part, Karel Otavsky presents 78 fabrics with woven decor from Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, Spain and Northern Africa. Some of them, such as fragments of relic wrappings from Siguenza, parts of the ceremonial ornaments from the tomb of Bishop Bernard Calvo of Vic or the textiles found in 1924/25 at Ray in Persia belong to the classic material of textile history. The catalogue contains references to the origin and history of individual fabrics. Appropriate attention is also given to technical aspects, which are particularly important for fabrics with a woven decor. Fabrics, which have been found to be modern imitations of Persian textiles, are described in the appendix. The discussion, which continued for decades, over the authenticity of this special group is summarized. A glossary of technical terms, an index and concordance, together with references to literature complete the work.

This is the first of the Abegg Foundation’s series of collection catalogues, which are designed to provide scientific access to the Riggisberg Textile Collection.

Excerpt