Carpet Fragment
Not on view
Associated with the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria, Mamluk-style carpets figured significantly in Mediterranean commerce and appear in Venetian paintings from the sixteenth century. The style of these carpets is characterized by medallions surrounded by a variety of smaller geometric motifs, forming a kaleidoscopic appearance. The palette is limited to red, blue, green, and yellow tones. Documents first refer to Cairo as a center of carpet weaving in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, and production continued until the mid-sixteenth century, shortly after the 1517 Ottoman conquest of Egypt.
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