Embroidered Armenian liturgical curtain
Unknown Artist
1763
Medium
twill weave: wool; embroidery, chain stitch: silk, gilt- and silver-metal thread
Dimensions
183 × 119.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
2014.13
About this artwork
This rare Ottoman embroidery features a floral bouquet that enriches the field under an elegant arch of gilt-metal thread. Flanked by vines of tulips and irises on a silver-metal-thread ground, vases of tulips and jonquils within cartouches adorn the main border and the well-turned corners, a sign of high quality. Dated 1763, the textile documents a mid-18th-century style and technique uncommon in Ottoman embroideries. The Armenian community commissioned this pattern for a liturgical curtain. Be...