
Pseudo-Kufic: Renaissance Imitations of Arabic Script (2010) - benbreen
http://resobscura.blogspot.com/2010/08/pseudo-kufic-renaissance-imitations-of.html
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splat
This article goes into much more detail about why it became popular in the
West to adorn textiles with pseudo-Kufic script during the Renaissance:

[http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/fashion/crusader-
chic](http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/fashion/crusader-chic)

The short version is that it was fashionable in Fatimid Egypt for the ruler to
bestow high quality garments to government officials as a sort of promition.
These garments usually had verses from the koran embroidered along the hems.
The crusaders brought back many of these garments to Western Europe where they
became very popular, and the style was imitated in paintings.

