Pillow cover with Arabic inscription

About this artwork

This rare complete Egyptian pillow cover is a masterpiece of contrasting colors. Crimson and blue-green wool alternate in the ground and bird-inhabited roundels, supported by mustard-colored wool and undyed linen woven in tapestry weave. When folded down the center, based on examples from Egyptian burials, four birds form a unit on each side and are appropriately ascending in flight. Above, an Arabic text written in angular Kufic script reads, "In the name of God. Blessing from God to its owner....