Lampas with griffins in roundels, from the Reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral
1100-50
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Mirrored griffins with gold heads dominate these roundels, as they turn their heads unnaturally to stare at each other across their wing tips. The pairs of dragons in the framing border, however, have lost their artistic impact since the green silk thread has disintegrated into brown specks.
Luxury silks woven in Islamic Spain were worn by Christian kings throughout Europe. Their patterns also influenced designs in Jewish synagogues and were the standard aesthetic of the elaborately decorated walls in the Muslim Alhambra palace in Granada. This silk is from the reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral, northeast of Madrid.
- Title: Lampas with griffins in roundels, from the Reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral
- Date Created: 1100-50
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 52.7 x 63.5 cm (20 3/4 x 25 in.); Mounted: 61 x 71.1 cm (24 x 28 in.)
- Provenance: the silk fragment was found c. 1948 in the Cathedral of Siguenza, Spain, in the reliquary of Saint Librada (1st c.) , whose relics were restored to the Cathedral in the 12th century; it is said to have been brought there from Almeria in 1147 by Alphonse VII, (Paul O. Berliz, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Textile
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.152
- Medium: Silk and gold thread: lampas and plain-weave variant
- Department: Textiles
- Culture: Spain, Almeria
- Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Collection: T - Islamic
- Accession Number: 1952.152
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