Textile Depicting a Scene from Nizama's Khamsa
Unknown Artist
16th–17th century
Medium
Silk, metal wrapped thread; double-weave
Dimensions
Textile: L. 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm) W. 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm) Mount: H. 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm) W. 18 in. (45.7 cm) D. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) Wt. 8 lbs. (3.6 kg)
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.156.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite textile, woven in the 16th–17th century, captures a vibrant scene from Nizami Ganjavi's *Khamsa*, a collection of five epic Persian poems from the 12th century. Popular in Islamic art, the *Khamsa* inspired countless illustrations across manuscripts, paintings, and textiles blending romance, adventure, and moral tales. Here, an unknown artist deftly rendered human figures, horses, and animals in a dynamic composition, evoking the grandeur of Persian storytelling traditions during the Safavid era or similar cultural hubs. Crafted from silk with metal-wrapped threads using the so...