Textile
Unknown Artist
10th–11th century
Medium
Silk
Dimensions
Overall: 1 1/2 × 4 in. (3.8 × 10.2 cm) Storage (pressure mounted in glass): 1 9/16 × 4 1/8 in. (4 × 10.5 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Culture
Byzantine
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.156.48
Art Historical Context
This exquisite silk textile, crafted by an unknown artist in the Byzantine during the 10th–11th century, offers a glimpse into the opulent world of medieval luxury goods. Measuring just 1 1/2 × 4 inches, this woven fragment survives as a testament to the empire's mastery of silk production, centered in Constantinople Byzantine silks were highly prized across Europe and the Islamic world, often traded along the Silk Road and used in imperial garments, church vestments, or diplomatic gifts. The textile's woven technique—classified as a "Textiles-Woven" piece—highlights the sophisticated looms a...