Publication Date
8th/14th century
Publication Place
-
Museum of Islamic Art
Subject
wool; Handmade rug.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الطول: 385سم؛ العرض: 95سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
I. 27
Record ID
object;ISL;de;Mus01;16;ar
Library Location
Museum of Islamic Art
Date
8th/14th century
Notes
This tattered carpet, owned by Wilhelm von Bode, was in a church in Tyrol and from there reached the art trade center of Munich. This rug is long, narrow in width and clearly divided. In its red-ground center is a tree trunk, from which branch out, at regular intervals and at right angles, branches filled with large flowers. Its center is surrounded by a frame with a repeated green background bearing an Arabic word written in Kufic script. This word is abbreviated at the upper end by two letters connected to each other. This Arabic writing may be the Islamic certificate is written incorrectly. The separator between the words is small roses. Toward the outer edge is a second frame bearing a string of double pearls. In addition, the frames are surrounded by adhesive tape with a blue background. The first to suggest that this carpet may be from a Spanish synagogue was Frédéric Sarre, who conceived the recurring, budding geometric shapes as a reconfiguration of the box in which the Torah was placed. There are images and formations similar to a Torah box on mosaics in synagogues dating back to late antiquity in Palestine. It has not yet been possible to confirm this theory with Spanish examples, as the six-pointed star (the Seal of Solomon) appears frequently in Islamic decorations without this being interpreted as the Star of David. Drawings on paintings often show that the use of Arabic writing in Kufic script, whether in architectural works or on carpets and fabrics, was common in Christian areas in the Middle Ages, and although there are no pieces that can be compared with this carpet, we can assume that this carpet is the oldest example of a carpet. The Spanish is known so far.
Sample Text
Jens Kröger “A carpet depicting a tree bearing buds, or the so-called synagogue carpet” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;de;Mus01;16;ar