AN EXTREMELY RARE LEDGER ON THE MAKING OF THE HOLY...

AN EXTREMELY RARE LEDGER ON THE MAKING OF THE HOLY KAABA'S KISWA UNDER KHEDIVE TAWFIQ PASHA
Egypt, 1886

An exceptional ledger recording the daily records over several months, related to the manufacture of the Kiswa of the Holy Kaaba, detailing the names of its craftsmen and master artisans, goldmiths and silversmiths, the used materials, accounts, wages, decorative works known as the zarkasha, with seals of the Maslahat Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa (مصلحة الكسوة الشريفة) the prominent state workshop in Cairo - which employed around 4,000 craftsmen, founded in 1817 by Muhammad Ali Pasha to produce the sacred textiles and coverings for the Kaaba in Mecca; the ledger is dated to 1886, during the reign of Khedive Muhammad Tawfiq Pasha, and consists of 89 large-format leaves, and its daily entries begin on Tuesday, 4 May 1886 and continues until December the same year; the daily entries record the manufacturing process stage by stage; the process begins with materials entering the system and being recorded, the required quantities are then issued for work, from there, materials pass into the hands of different specialists according to the task required, the work of the weaver differs from that of the tailor, the embroiderer performs a different function from the zarrākash, the specialist responsible for zarkasha, or decorative embellishment, the ledger therefore reveals a division of labour based upon specialised skill; on the basis of the entries, the broad production sequence may ultimately be reconstructed along the following lines: receipt and registration of materials; preparation; allocation to specialist craftsmen; execution of specialised work; embroidery, zarkasha, and metalwork where specifically attested; assembly; calculation of materials and wages; review; authentication by seals and witnesses of Maslahat Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa.

52.7cm x 38cm

For centuries, rulers and states devoted substantial attention and resources to the service of the Holy Places, and Egypt occupied a particularly important place in the history of the manufacture and dispatch of the Kiswa, its production brought together textile manufacture, sewing, embroidery, decorative craftsmanship and highly specialised skills within an organised working environment. During the reign of Muhammad Tawfiq Pasha (r. 1879-1892), Egypt held the exclusive privilege of crafting and transporting the Kaaba's Kiswa alongside the Mahmal caravan every year, the ledger therefore provides evidence for a particularly intimate aspect of Egypt's historic concern with traditions connected to the service of the Two Holy Mosques.

The Maslahat Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa also known as Dar Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa (the House of the noble Kiswa) was a workshop in Cairo, founded in 1817 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, Egypt’s Ottoman governor, to produce sacred textiles for Mecca and Medina. The workshop was active from 1817 until 1997.

Literature:
Porter, V., Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam, Cambridge, Mass, 2012, pp. 263–265.
Porter, V., and Saif, L., The Hajj: Collected Essays, The British Museum, 2013, p.176.

Provenance:
Currently in the property of a private American collector.
Previously in a private collection, Sweden, 2010.
Acquired from an Egyptian gentleman in the United States in 1968.

This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter.