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Celestial banquet hanging, from the tomb of Bishop Gurb
1200-1284
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This rare silk fragment is from a luxurious hanging of brightly colored silk and shiny gold thread that displayed rows of figural roundels on a plain ground. The two turbaned men holding flasks flanking a palmette tree and the turbaned rider with a flying scarf are derived from the ancient Near Eastern imperial themes of the banquet and the hunt. The Arabic inscription framing each roundel proclaims, <em>There is no god but Allah</em>.
This piece along with several others were reportedly found in the tomb of Bishop Gurb (died 1284) in the Cathedral of Barcelona in about 1890.
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Details
- Title: Celestial banquet hanging, from the tomb of Bishop Gurb
- Date Created: 1200-1284
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 21.2 x 58.4 cm (8 3/8 x 23 in.); Mounted: 30.2 x 67 cm (11 7/8 x 26 3/8 in.)
- Provenance: reportedly from tomb of Don Arnaldo de Gurb, Bishop of Barcelona [d. 1284], Montaner-Capmany, Barcelona, Spain, (Arturo Ramon Garriga, Barcelona, Spain, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Textile
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.368
- Medium: Silk and gold thread: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave
- Inscriptions: Arabic inscription bordering the roundels translates: "There is no god but God."
- Department: Textiles
- Culture: Spain, probably Almeria
- Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Collection: T - Islamic
- Accession Number: 1966.368
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