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Source Description
This polychrome velvet displays the heraldic design of the Medici family of Florence, where it was probably made. The device of crimson balls on a yellow ground appears in the centers of the colorful rosettes. Gilt-metal thread forms the heraldic ground in more lavish examples. The striped selvage helps identify the late 15th-century dating. The rosette pattern created with four colors of pile warp is silhouetted on the ivory satin weave foundation, known as voided velvet. Its color scheme and tile-like design have often been associated with influence from Islamic lands, most likely Turkey.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
123447
label
Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
123447
contentType
object
title
Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes
description
This polychrome velvet displays the heraldic design of the Medici family of Florence, where it was probably made. The device of crimson balls on a yellow ground appears in the centers of the colorful rosettes. Gilt-metal thread forms the heraldic ground in more lavish examples. The striped selvage helps identify the late 15th-century dating. The rosette pattern created with four colors of pile warp is silhouetted on the ivory satin weave foundation, known as voided velvet. Its color scheme and tile-like design have often been associated with influence from Islamic lands, most likely Turkey.
date
1450–1500
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79900657
genreSpecific
Velvet
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 211.5 x 40 cm (83 1/4 x 15 3/4 in.); Mounted: 222.3 x 49.5 x 7.6 cm (87 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 3 in.)
cul
Italy, Florence, 15th century
accession
1943.67
Source extras
tec
silk, velvet: cut pile and voided
tombstone
Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes, 1450–1500. Italy, Florence, 15th century. Silk, velvet: cut pile and voided; overall: 211.5 x 40 cm (83 1/4 x 15 3/4 in.); mounted: 222.3 x 49.5 x 7.6 cm (87 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 3 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1943.67
collection
Textiles
citations
citation
Weibel, Adèle Coulin. Two Thousand Years of Textiles; The Figured Textiles of Europe and the Near East. New York: Published for the Detroit Institute of Arts [by] Pantheon Books, 1952.
page_number
p. 124, cat. no. 146
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:21:06.676000
sourceId
123447
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
silk, velvet: cut pile and voided
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
61962446231241b1