Mahmal
Title:
Mahmal
Date: dated AH 1316 and 1318 (AD 1898–9 and 1900–01)
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Materials: mahmal cover (sitr) of black silk, with red and brick-coloured silk appliqués, with finial and side banners, embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding; five gilded copper finials
Dimensions: 325 (approximate height, as assembled) x 144 x 107cm
Accession Number: TXT 529
Script:
This cover for the Egyptian mahmal was commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I and presented by the Egyptian wali (‘Governor’) ‘Abbas Hilmi Pasha. An inscription embroidered on one side of the pyramidal roof states that it was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan in AH 1316 (AD 1898–9), while another, on the opposite side, states that it was ‘renewed’ (i.e. presented or re-used) two years later in AH 1318, by the then governor of Egypt. The front and the back of the pyramid carry the tughra of Sultan Abdulmajid I.
For the mahmal in general and other mahmals in the Collection, see TXT 442.
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