Kahhal Looms & Shosha Kamal Weave Ramses II's Victories Into Rugs

What happens when 150 years of weaving craftsmanship meets the legacy of Ramses the Great? Kahhal Looms has partnered with Shosha Kamal Design House to produce The Ramses Collection, a duo of limited edition carpets that channel the pharaoh’s audacious command as he charges into the legendary battle of Qadesh. These rugs stand as the latest addition to Kahhal Looms’ Weaving Eternity series. Paying homage to the pharaoh's courage and leadership, where his victory turned the tide of history resulting in the first peace treaty ever recorded.

The creative process required a deep immersion into the past to ensure both the weaver and the designer did justice to the pharaoh's story. Shosha Kamal shared, "For two whole years, when my team and I were working on the creation of the Ramses the Great collection, I read every book, I watched every documentary, and I frankly couldn’t help but fall in love. I fell in love with his strength, his vision, his wild love for his country and for his wife. I thought it was a journey of design; it turned out to be a journey of love."

The collection has found a permanent home that feels almost predestined, situated within the Kahhal Looms flagship store at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Mohammed ElKahhal, Co-founder of Kahhal Looms says, "Standing in the GEM, with the king’s statue looking over the space, you can actually feel the power in motion that Shosha captured in her design."

One might wonder how the legacy of a pharaoh is translated into hand-knotted contemporary Egyptian textile art without losing its impact. He adds, "Translating the sheer scale, presence, and unstoppable force of Ramses into a woven medium was a monumental undertaking." The physical proximity of the collection to the original statue of Ramses the Great positions the rugs as monuments of their own, shifting the work of Kahhal Looms and Shosha Kamal Design House from mere furniture into a powerful presence for any room.

The Qadesh rug comes in two colours; bold red and neutral tones, all hand-knotted using Egyptian wool and bamboo silk inlays. Through their meticulous craftsmanship, the pieces stand as a symbol for power in motion where every knot holds the weight of that history.