Fragment with falconer and attendant in animated lattice, from a robe
Unknown Artist
mid-1500s
Medium
Silk: velvet, brocaded, pile-warp substitution; gilt-metal thread
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.794,"width":0.667},"mounted":{"height":0.895,"width":0.749}}
Classification
Velvet
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1944.239
About this artwork
This velvet of Iran’s Safavid period (1501–1722) displaying a falconry scene is celebrated for its refined beauty and meticulous draftsmanship. A falconer and attendant flank a blossoming plant on a golden ground of lobed medallions. Animated vines display leaves bearing lion’s masks and dragons coiled around larger leaves on the crimson ground. Instead of two or three colors of velvet, Iranian weavers wove with as many as 14 colors, the most colorful velvets ever woven.