A Block-Printed Fabric from Hama
Why is a cotton sheet made in the Syrian city of Hama decorated with images of waterwheels? This talk discusses the visual characteristics of this simple textile and explores the links that can be made between the repeated decoration has to block-printed cotton fabrics made in medieval India.
Figure 1. Cotton textile with block-printed designs. Acquired in Hama, Syria, c. 2000. Private collection, Victoria.
Figure 4. Waterwheel in Hama. Photograph: Marcus Milwright, 1994.
Figure 2. Detail of the textile showing the representation of a waterwheel.
Figure 3. Detail of the textile showing the repeated vegetal design.
- For more on the excavations at Quseir Qadim, see Katharine Strange Burke, ‘Quseir al-Qadim’