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Silk with lattice of animals in medallions

600s–800s

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

In this fragile silk, vines bearing heart-shaped florets form a diamond grid that displays different motifs in alternate rows. Pairs of ducks with ribbons flying behind their necks flank a palmette tree, showing Iranian influence, and alternate with two birds in lobed medallions. The patterns in such expensive silks were copied in less costly wool tapestry weave by Coptic weavers in Egypt.

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  • Title: Silk with lattice of animals in medallions
  • Date Created: 600s–800s
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 25.7 x 34 cm (10 1/8 x 13 3/8 in.); Mounted: 32.4 x 40.6 cm (12 3/4 x 16 in.)
  • Provenance: said to have been found in Akhmim, Egypt, (Mrs. Paul [Marguerite] Mallon [d. 1977], 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/1952.103
  • Medium: Silk: samite
  • Department: Textiles
  • Culture: Egypt or Syria
  • Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
  • Collection: Textiles
  • Accession Number: 1952.103
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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