The panels decorating this door are believed to have once adorned the surface of a minbar commissioned by Sultan Lajin (d. 1299 A.D). The minbar was built in 1296 A.D and placed in the ninth century Mosque of Ibn Tulun. As a Mamluk officer, Lajin used the dilapidated mosque for shelter during a period of civil unrest, as he hid from his political enemies. He vowed that if he survived, he would repay the mosque by repairing it to its former glory. These minbar panels are an example of his vow. The Lajin panels are important examples of early Mamluk woodcarving, as they attest to the skill and creativity of early Mamluk carpentry. According to Stanley Lane-Poole (1854 – 1931 A.D.) in his book The Art of the Saracens in Egypt, the Lajin minbar panels were exceptional examples of carving skill and creativity; the panels represent the peak of Mamluk minbar design.

This craftsmanship was later appreciated by Europeans residing in Cairo, who re purposed Mamluk period panels and plaques into new compositions and frames. This door panel represents such a composite. The salvaging of older Mamluk wood and ivory panels and their re purposing within later architectural structures was a common trend in Egypt during the time of the French influence, starting under Napoleon III yet continuing in increasing numbers towards the end of the 19th century. The French were particularly interested in re purposing architectural elements (panels, doors and plaques) – some taken directly from minbars (Islamic pulpits) and others from architectural decorations in mosques and madrasas – to serve as decorative fittings within their Neo-Mamluk homes built in central Cairo. Doors such as these were common during the second half of the 19th century, especially at a time when much of old historic Cairo was being transformed and modernised. This, coupled with the increasing trend for Islamic designs, motivated European residents in Cairo to utilize such pieces within their newly designed homes.

When entire structures could not be re purposed (such as minbar doors), a selection of diverse panels would have been used, with ‘newer’ plaques made to fill in the missing pieces within the geometric composition. As such, composite panels present a combination of styles, techniques and dates, some of which are today difficult to decipher, as the craftsmanship of late 19th century carvers cleverly (and quite convincingly) imitated their earlier Mamluk masters. Indeed, this particular door panel has both Mamluk and later 19th century additions, even though its wooden frame is indisputably of the 19th century.

This panel is believed to have come from the home of the French Count Gaston Saint Maurice, built between 1860-1878. It was later displayed at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris before being acquired by the V&A