• Original Art: Gold-tooled leather book binding
• Era: 1500s
• Region: Cairo, Egypt

Gaze into the cosmos with this astral-inspired pattern. Like an exploding supernova, the gold tooling and embellishments burst off the surface of our Midnight Star design.

A celebrated Cairo workshop is responsible for this 12-pointed star binding, originally crafted in the early 1500s. At that time Cairo and Damascus, under the rule of Mamluks (1250–1517), were at the centre of Islamic book binding and trade. Cairo itself had been home to a paper mill since the 11th century. The leather used for this gold embellished cover would have been imported from the Arabian Peninsula or North African Maghreb. And though the name of the original atelier has been lost to history, the detailed and intricate pattern adorning these fine materials shows why books from this workshop were – and continue to be – so highly prized.

This fine binding was likely originally crafted to hold a book of high importance, such as the Koran, and today brings its majesty to your own thoughts or artwork. The maze-like design, suggestive of constellations across the night sky, begs you to take a closer look and explore its golden lines, curves and dots. Truly a wonder of the ancient world, Midnight Star invites you to be taken back to the glory days of Egyptian bookbinding arts.