Art Institute of Chicago

Fragment of Striped Silk

Egypt

Date

13th-15th century

Medium

Linen and silk; plain weave, bands of weft-faced plain weave with paired warps, bands of twill weave; stripes of warp-faced plain weave and supplementary warp and weft float weaves

Culture

Egypt

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, dealers in Egyptian cities including Alexandria and Cairo would often cut up ancient and antique textiles into many pieces in order sell them to multiple buyers, maximizing their profits. Fragments helped private collectors and museums at the time to build large collections that included as many different textiles as possible. This fragment was cut from the larger cloth in the collection of the National Museums in Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst.

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