Fragment
13th to 15th century
Medium
Linen and silk; plain weave, bands of weft-faced plain weave with paired warps, bands of twill weave; with stripes of warp-faced plain weave, and supplementary warp and weft float weaves
Dimensions
24.2 × 14 cm (9 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
57125
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, dealers in Egyptian cities including Alexandria and Cairo would often cut up ancient and antique textiles into many pieces in order sell them to multiple buyers, maximizing their profits. Fragments helped private collectors and museums at the time to build large collections that included as many different textiles as possible. This fragment was cut from the larger cloth in the collection of the National Museums in Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst.
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...