Database: Textiles
In Abbasid Baghdad, fabrics were everywhere, with doorways hung with curtains, hangings dividing private spaces from otherwise open colonnades, bare unpaved floors covered with mats or rugs, and halls through which marched richly-clothed personages. This colorful decor was created in various production centers throughout the empire.
Its skilled craftspeople adapted their creations to the means and desires of every part of society. For instance, most Baghdadi homes would not have been adorned with elegant colorful rugs but rather fiber mats woven of rushes, straw, and undyed hemp. Their design was usually very simple, with few decorations save for two bands of stylized writing that expressed blessings and good wishes to their owner, as is the case with the reed mat pictured here, whose inscription reads "Complete blessing and universal prosperity and continued happiness and joy to its owner." Some could nonetheless be quite elegant: the mats made in Tiberias and Abadan were described as "softer than silk" and could be folded in two as if made of cloth. Carpetmaking techniques and styles were perhaps influenced by the arrival of an increasing number of ghilman soldiers of Turkic origins to the city and its surroundings. Coming from colder regions, they might have introduced and popularized the use of thicker carpets or felts on floors in the home.
Abbassia textile workers were also famous for their production of tiraz, embroideries made of precious material and even gold threads. They served as the caliph's personal gift to honored courtiers and ambassadors. Their manufacture was therefore strictly controlled and production reserved for state-run workshops. Often inscribed with the name of the ruler or Quranic verses and distributed in elaborate ceremonies, they were considered incredibly valuable.