Piece
Unknown Artist
ca. 1480
Medium
Silk and metal thread
Dimensions
L. 55 1/2 x W. 22 1/2 inches (141.0 x 57.2 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Velvets
Culture
Italian, Florence
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Samuel H. Kress, 1946
Accession Number
46.109.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite velvet panel, crafted around 1480 in Florence, Italy, exemplifies the Renaissance city's mastery of luxury textiles. Measuring an impressive 55½ by 22½ inches, it is woven from shimmering silk and metal threads, creating a rich, tactile surface that would have dazzled in the opulent interiors of Florentine palaces or as sumptuous ecclesiastical vestments. The floral motifs, a hallmark of Italian velvet design, evoke the natural world in stylized, repeating patterns that blend artistic elegance with technical precision. Florentine weavers were renowned across Europe for their in...