An Ottoman Cairene carpet fragment, Egypt, 16th Century

Acquired prior to 1909 by the Bernheimer Family
The Bernheimer Family Collection of Carpets, Christie's London, February 14, 1996, lot 84

After the Ottoman conquest of the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, the weavings of the Egyptian looms, continued with some of the inherent traditions of the earlier geometric Mamluk carpets, such as the S-spun wool and the controlled palette, whilst incorporating the decorative motifs typical of Ottoman fashion, such as the corona of tulips and hyacinths we see here in the spandrel of this fragment, and the foliate designs  of field and border.