Mahmal

Date: AH 1273 (AD 1856)

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Materials: mahmal cover (sitr), finial and side banners of black silk, with red and brick-coloured silk appliqués, embroidered in silver and silver-gilt wire over cotton thread padding

Dimensions: 250 (approximate height, as assembled) x 140 x 106cm

Accession Number: TXT 492

Script:

This cover for the mahmal  was commissioned by Sultan Abdulmajid I and presented by the Egyptian wali (‘Governor’) Muhammad Sa‘id Pasha. It comprises the sitr itself – a tent-like cover with a pyramidal roof and an almost-square base with a slit opening at the front; small banners, for the corners and the top of the pyramid; and two larger banners (bayraq) bearing the tughra of the Ottoman sultan. The design of stylized palm trees decorating the base is reminiscent of the that seen on contemporary Ka‘bah door curtains such as TXT 307 and TXT 406.
For the mahmal in general and other mahmals in the Collection, see TXT 442.