The Hackwood Park Cairene Ottoman medallion carpet. Cairo, Egypt, 3rd quarter 16th century. 2.81 x 5.17m (9'3" x 17'0").
no.CA05. The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

The rug was acquired at auction from the English country house Hackwood Park in 1998. It is very finely woven, with superb drawing and composition,99 but while the wefts and warps are almost all original, there is hardly an original knot left on the carpet. The clarity of drawing and fine articulation of pattern strongly suggests that it pre-dates the Medici Ottoman carpet and can be ascribed to the beginning of the third quarter of the 16th century. Certainly the restoration followed the original pattern faithfully, so the Hackwood carpet remains a very good document of an Ottoman carpet pattern.