CAIRENE RUG

Egyptian floor covering believed to have been made in or near Cairo, from at least as early as the 15th century to the 18th. The early production, under the Mamluk dynasty, is characterized by geometric, centralized schemes featuring large and complex star shapes, octagons, or polygonal centerpieces, subdivided and graced with a multitude of tiny radial or clustered forms. Presumably, those in six colours are earlier, for the palette was reduced to three not long before the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Old records indicate that many large, long carpets were produced, but except for one magnificent silk carpet (sterreichisches Museum fr Angewandte Kunst, Vienna), those that have survived are usually small, with cross panels toward both ends. The conquest resulted in a variety of transitional designs and ultimately in a large production of floral rugs in the Ottoman manner, many with systems of circular medallions. Both Mamluk and Ottoman Cairene rugs seem to have been exported in large numbers to southern Europe, where most of the known examples were found, including a few cruciform rugs for use on tables.