Section of Silk Fabric with Falconers Amid Rose Bushes
Unknown Artist
c. 1675
Medium
Silk and silver-metal thread: twill weave with complementary and discontinuous weft
Dimensions
47.7 × 48.3 cm · mounted: 58.4 × 58.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1949.467
About this artwork
Twill-weave fabrics were used to make garments, especially jackets, during the Safavid period. It was not until after the 1570s that Iranian textiles began to regularly feature the human figure as a decorative motif. Weavers drew from Persian paintings for their subject matter, such as the favorite princely pastime of falconing. Trained falcons were brought on royal hunts to locate and retrieve the prey; close relationships developed between the falcon and the falconer.