This beautifully carved wood panel comes from Egypt, where wood, on account of its rarity and cost, was decorated with care and used in contexts generally reserved for luxury materials. Although it is impossible to determine how this panel was used originally—perhaps it once formed part of a door—it is possible to assign it to the late ninth century on the basis of its distinctive decoration, with its characteristic beveled style of carving, here depicting stylized leaves that have been transformed into abstract motifs. First developed in Iraq, this beveled style was quickly adopted by artists in many parts of the Islamic empire, including Egypt.

• Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

• Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
• Pal, Pratapaditya, ed.  Islamic Art:  The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection.  Los Angeles:  Museum Associates, 1973.
• Komaroff, Linda.  Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Los Angeles:  Museum Associates, 2005.