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Fragment with Inscription

before 1962

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

A design in dark brown on a background of dark tan preserves five nearly complete double-headed "eagles" and almost half of a sixth, arranged in aligned rows. Each eagle grasps griffins in its talons. Small birds decorate the shoulders of its wings, and on the wing of each small bird is inscribed with the word “mercy.” Superimposed on the eagle, as if being carried, is a small standing human figure which bears on the upper part of its arms the word “blessing.” At the top of the textile, a Kufic inscription repeats a line from the <em>diwan</em>, collected poetry, of al-Buhturi.

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  • Title: Fragment with Inscription
  • Date Created: before 1962
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 171 x 65 cm (67 5/16 x 25 9/16 in.)
  • Provenance: (Mme. Paul [Margurerite] Mallon [d. 1977], Paris, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Textile
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.264
  • Medium: Silk: lampas weave
  • Inscriptions: On the wing of each small bird is an inscription: "al-rahmah" [mercy]., On the upper part of the arms of the small standing figure: "al-barakah" [blessing]., At top of textile: "baqayta amir al-mu'minin fa-innama baqa['u]ka hasan lil-zaman wa-tay-yib"
  • Fun Fact: The top inscription is a line by poet Al-Walīd ibn Ubaidillah Al-Buḥturī (821-897).
  • Department: Textiles
  • Culture: Iran, in the style of the Buyid period (945–1055)
  • Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
  • Collection: T - Islamic
  • Accession Number: 1962.264
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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