Life-size Templates for the Four Sections of the Ka‘bah Door Curtain

Location: Dar al-Kiswah, Cairo, Egypt

Materials: ink, pencil and watercolour on thick card, ghost-marked with a grid

Dimensions: 176 x 337cm; 171.5 x 338cm; 120.5 x 344cm; and 184 x 341cm

Accession Number: MSS 1128.3–6

Other Notes: The four sections are known as al-‘atabah; al-tiraz; al-qa’im al-saghir (which includes the dedication); and al-qa’im al-kabir, which has the door opening. This pattern was used in the 19th century but was replaced by a different one in 1909, the change mostly affecting the last panel, where the stylized palm trees seen here were replaced by elegant arabesques.

In this template, the blue represents areas which were to be embroidered in silver wire, the yellow in gilded silver wire. For curtains made in this pattern, see TXT 279, TXT 307 and TXT 406.