Textile with Palmettes
Unknown Artist
1200s–1300s
Medium
Silk and gold thread; tabby with supplementary weft
Dimensions
85.5 × 35 cm · mounted: 106.7 × 50.8 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1993.253
About this artwork
Designs of repeated ogives were popular in Central Asia and survive in a number of variations. Usually, the ogival frame encloses a floral motif, as in this example. Sometimes paired animals occur instead. Silks with this type of pattern were exported to Western Asia and to Europe, where they inspired textile designs woven locally. Mongol silks with exotic floral and animal patterns were acquired for use as clothing and furnishings by the clergy and nobility. They were also used by painters as m...