Publication Date
19th century
Publication Place
-
Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Subject
4 ink, pencil and watercolor sketches on thick cardstock and imaginatively marked with a grid
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
MSS 1128.3–6
Record ID
object;EPM;uk;Mus22;33;ar
Library Location
Al-Khalili Family Trust - Nasser D. Collection. Al-Khalili Islamic Art
Date
19th century
Notes
Most of the curtains at the Kaaba's door made in Dar Al-Kiswah during the nineteenth century follow the same basic design, in which elements of schematic decoration prevail, characterized by a series of specially styled palm trees on either side of the door's opening. Because of its size, the curtains of the door of the Kaaba were made in four parts, which were embroidered separately and then connected together. They are known as the threshold, the style, the small pillar, and the large pillar, and these plans drawn in real size determine the placement of the decorative patterns for each of them. The areas that will be embroidered with silver and light blue, while those that will be embroidered with silver-plated wire are yellow. The set also includes life-sized templates for the curtains for the inner door of the Kaaba of the Meccan pulpit for the Kiswa of the Maqam Ibrahim and the door of the Maqamat Ibrahim from the same set.
Sample Text
“Live-to-scale casts of the Kaaba door curtain” within Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus22;33;ar
