Sleeve from a Tunic
Unknown Artist
700s
Medium
wool; plain weave with slit-tapestry weave
Dimensions
31.7 × 34.3 cm · mounted: 41.3 × 46.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1982.107.c
About this artwork
Classical figures and winged animals remained popular during the early Islamic period. The nude male may portray Dionysus, Greek god of wine; he holds his thyrsus, a staff ornamented with ivy leaves and pine cones, as he pours liquid from a small jug for the panther. These colorful designs would have decorated the front or back of a tunic and one sleeve. Elaborate embellishments were cherished. Thus, once a tunic began to fray, its decoration was sewn onto a new one, as seen on this winter-weigh...