History of the Tentmakers Art

More than 100 years ago, French archaeologist Gaston Maspero excavated a 21^st Dynasty Egyptian tomb and found a tent made of leather, deemed to be one of the best surviving examples of the period. Egyptologist Villiers Stuart writing in 1882, chronicled the discovery of the funerary tent of Princess Isi em Khebs in The Funeral Tent of an Egyptian Queen.

Khan Khayamiah, the Tent Market

The ancient art of tentmaking continues today in the work of approximately 45 khayamin, the Egyptian makers of khayamiah or tents, living in Cairo in the Chareh El Khiamiah, the street of the tentmakers.

When translated into English, khayamiah is also spelled as khiamiah, khayamyah and khayamia.
 

The origins of the tentmakers art are multiple. The remains of an appliqued leather tent found in an excavated tomb was decorated with animals, flowers and a starred ceiling. Tents are shown in the Rameses panel at Abu Simbel.  Paul, Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers of the 1st century, living and working their art together.  

The origins of the designs which Egyptian tentmakers draw from the Coptic period of 330BCE to the Islamic conquest of 641CE, with the exception of earlier Pharonic designs.  The term Copt is taken from the Arabic word quibt for Egyptian, later becoming the designated term for indigenous Egyptian Christians. 

Remnants of this period demonstrate the high level of textile skill in Egypt and a general tendency towards abstract and geometrical designs and highly stylised human forms. Persian influences are demonstrated in the presence of naturalistic fruit, flowers, birds and mythological figures.  Islamic influence commencing in the 7^th century, saw a move away from figurative images and the development of richer abstract styles which incorporated elements of architectural decoration and which remain to the present day. 

Ottoman Period khayamgy at work

 The Mamluk Period  saw Islamic art flower, and the elements of Mamluk style remain a foundational influence in tentmaking decoration. The sinuous and methodical beauty of complex designs whose lines and curves repeat and interweave, draw from this period.  

The Ottoman Period saw the emergence of calligraphic decorations and the later style known as Mamluk Revival, or neo-Mamluk and sometimes Islamic Revival, many examples of which survive today. 

An extraordinary surviving example of a late Ottoman khayamiah is found in Doddington Hall UK, and is installed in the Hall as the Tent Room.   Dr Sam Bowker Lecturer in Art History and Visual Culture at Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga draws the analogy of walking into a large tent such as this, with walking into a cathedral filled with light and colour.   The exterior may be monotonal, but the interior is richly, colourfully and glowingly decorative.  

A highly adaptable art, the central element of the tentmakers work is the flat panel or suradeq which presents a highly adaptable surface. Adapting to contemporary demands, the flat panel versus the whole tent, is now the main item of production. Where traditional fabric dyes included indigo, red and yellow madder and coccus beetle, the fabrics used today are dyed with modern synthetic dyes. Cotton fabrics dominate construction, however cotton-polyester blends are now included.

Interior with Egyptian Curtain, painted by Henri Matisse in 1948 shows a black, red, green and

Interior with Egyptian Curtain

yellow suradeq. Matisse is believed to have been influenced during this later period of his art by the bold coloured shapes in Egyptian tentmakers work and to have based his paper collage on the shapes and colours present in tentmaker work.

The growth of the travel industry in the late 19th century, the advent of photography and the enterprise of archeology all served to bring Egyptian arts, motifs and decorative styles to prominence and into everyday life.  Matisse's incorporation of a suradeq and his adaption of tentmaker imagery in his own work, is an example of this prominence that often passes unnoticed.

Tents which were the original source of the tentmakers art, are now produced as special commissions for Egyptian and Arab clients for weddings, gifts, holidays and receptions. Production of a tent can take up to 7 – 9 months. Each part of the tent is named as follows: the side or wall is known as the belma, the slope piece leading to the peak is the saket, the ceiling is the saqf and the canopied entrance is the sallabla.  


While the size and scope of the finished product has changed, the tentmakers of Cairo use traditional processes and artistic creativity to interpret and re-interpret established designs, producing unique pieces which continue this ancient art in the contemporary world. 

A 13th century manuscript depicting a scene with colourful tents in a range of styles

Additional Information 

• Australian Film maker Kim Beamish is currently making a crowd-funded documentary about the tentmakers titled The Tentmakers of Chareh El Khiamiah. On Kim's website is a range of information about the tentmakers and links to short youtube clips showing the tentmakers working and discussing their art.  You can access Kim's youtube site directly by clicking here.
  

• Dr Sam Bowker talks about Egyptian Tentmaker work and his current exhibition, Khayamiya: Khedival to Contemporary in Silverfish are definitely not invited