Bookbinding

Unknown

first half 14th century · Leather; stamped and gilded · Islamic Art

Complex geometric patterns, a conventional feature of the Mamluk decorative repertoire, also were popular in inlaid woodwork and stone mosaics, where they were achieved with equal mastery and imagination. The front and back of this bookbinding contain the same design, a blind-tooled interlacing geometric pattern that expands outward from a central star medallion. The star in this design is formed by the intersection of two overlapping hexagons with two overlapping eight-pointed stars (created by two rotated squares). The bookbinding has lost the flap that would have protected the front edge of the manuscript it once held.

Artist

Unknown

Date

first half 14th century

Medium

Leather; stamped and gilded

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1933