Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah
Title:
Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Materials: black silk, with coloured silk appliqués, relief-embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding
Dimensions: 588 x 295cm
Accession Number: TXT 514
Script:
The year 1327 AH (1909 AD) saw a change in the design of the Ka‘bah door curtains in which the row of stylized palm trees gave way to a panel of elegant arabesques. This design continued in use until the 1960s, when Egypt stopped providing the Meccan textiles and their production moved to Mecca itself. It was also the first reganl year of Sultan Mehmed Rashad, who succeeded to the Ottoman throne following the deposition of Sultan Abdulhamid II. According to the commissioning notice embroidered on the rectangular panel immediately above the top of the door opening, this curtain was made to the order of Sultan Mehmed V and presented to the Ka‘bah by ‘Abbas Hilmi II, the Khedive of Egypt. See also TXT 476.
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