Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah
Title:
Curtain for the Door of the Ka‘bah
Date: dated 1272 AH (1855–6 AD)
Location: Cairo, Egypt; commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I
Materials: black silk, with coloured silk appliqués, heavily embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding
Dimensions: 530 x 276cm
Accession Number: TXT 311
Script:
The sitarah (or curtain) for the door of the Ka‘bah – known also as the burdah or the burqu‘ – was by far the most elaborate part of the kiswah and was replaced annually. Since Mamluk times, sitarahs were made in Egypt, and left Cairo with the kiswah accompanied by the caravan of pilgrims amidst great pomp and circumstance. Today, they are made in a special workshop in Mecca.
The inscriptions in the central olive-green panel state that this curtain – here referred to as a burdah – was made to the order of the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmajid I, and presented to the Ka‘bah by Muhammad Sa‘id, the Governor of Egypt.
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