Fragment with palmette arches with Alhambra wall pattern
Unknown Artist
1300s
Medium
Silk and gilt-metal thread: lampas weave
Dimensions
48.3 × 25.4 cm · mounted: 58.1 × 35.2 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1939.35
About this artwork
This rare, gold-thread silk displays a sophisticated pattern that also decorates the stucco walls of the Alhambra, the imperial palace in Granada. Three superimposed designs form the harmonious pattern on the golden ground. Splitpalmette leaves in ivory or green silk form staggered arches displaying a crimson text, Good fortune, written in angular Arabic script with extended strokes that create secondary symmetrical arches. Deep blue palmette leaves create the third level of decoration. The inte...