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Source Description
The design of this textile offers an interesting iconographic puzzle. The double-headed eagle was a common motif in the art of the Near East in ancient times and from there seems to have found its way into Byzantine and European art. The animal tail ending in an animal's head is also found in Near Eastern art and is particularly noted in textiles of the Seljuk period (1000s–1100s) in Persia. However, the division of the roundel frame into two halves ending in animal heads is not known in the art of the Near East nor is the continuous knot motif which occurs just behind the animal head of the frames. Both of these motifs are familiar in the art of the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian peoples of Europe.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
127520
label
Fragment
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
127520
contentType
object
title
Fragment
description
The design of this textile offers an interesting iconographic puzzle. The double-headed eagle was a common motif in the art of the Near East in ancient times and from there seems to have found its way into Byzantine and European art. The animal tail ending in an animal's head is also found in Near Eastern art and is particularly noted in textiles of the Seljuk period (1000s–1100s) in Persia. However, the division of the roundel frame into two halves ending in animal heads is not known in the art of the Near East nor is the continuous knot motif which occurs just behind the animal head of the frames. Both of these motifs are familiar in the art of the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian peoples of Europe.
date
900s–1000s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60755219
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 46.4 x 54.6 cm (18 1/4 x 21 1/2 in.); Mounted: 61.9 x 67 x 2.5 cm (24 3/8 x 26 3/8 x 1 in.)
cul
Byzantium
accession
1950.2
Source extras
tec
Silk and gold: compound twill, brocaded
tombstone
Fragment, 900s–1000s. Byzantium. Silk and gold: compound twill, brocaded; overall: 46.4 x 54.6 cm (18 1/4 x 21 1/2 in.); mounted: 61.9 x 67 x 2.5 cm (24 3/8 x 26 3/8 x 1 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1950.2
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
The entire pattern is in gold thread, except for such minor details as claws and eyes which are in golden tan silk on a rose-red ground.
citations
citation
Shepherd, Dorothy. "A Medieval Brocade." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>37, no. 9 (November 1950): 195-196
page_number
Mentioned: p. 196; Reproduced: p. 199
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 687
citation
Flury-Lemberg, Mechthild and Brigitta Schmedding. <em>Abegg-Stiftung Bern a Riggisberg</em> <em>= Abegg-Stiftung Bern in Riggisberg. II Textilien</em>. Bern: Paul Haupt, 1973.
page_number
tafel 12
citation
Bagnoli, Martina. <em>Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2010.
page_number
cat. no. 68
citation
Canby, Sheila R, Deniz Beyazit, Martina Rugiadi, and A. C. S Peacock. <em>Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
p. 239, cat. no 150
citation
Peter, Michael. <em>Gewebtes gold: eine kleine geschichte der metallfadenweberei von der antike bis um 1800</em>. Riggisberg: Abegg-Stiftung, 2022.
page_number
pp. 34–35
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:34:00.378000
sourceId
127520
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Silk and gold: compound twill, brocaded
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
148aa7a89f4f3b3e