Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Gold was block-printed onto <em>mulham</em> cloth with figures of lions—symbols of the royal hunt and imperial power. Gold lions adorned with collars and palmettes enliven squares on dark-brown and undyed mulham groups in a checkerboard layout. The pattern was printed with several blocks on the mulham surface. The process included drawing outlines with black ink and block printing with gold powder and dark-brown pigment, each mixed with a binding medium. The gold paint was flattened with rubbing, which created a good imitation of gold leaf.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
127924
label
Fragment with gold leaf lions
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
127924
contentType
object
title
Fragment with gold leaf lions
description
Gold was block-printed onto <em>mulham</em> cloth with figures of lions—symbols of the royal hunt and imperial power. Gold lions adorned with collars and palmettes enliven squares on dark-brown and undyed mulham groups in a checkerboard layout. The pattern was printed with several blocks on the mulham surface. The process included drawing outlines with black ink and block printing with gold powder and dark-brown pigment, each mixed with a binding medium. The gold paint was flattened with rubbing, which created a good imitation of gold leaf.
date
1000s–1100s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79908341
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 32.1 x 40 cm (12 5/8 x 15 3/4 in.)
cul
Iran or Iraq, Seljuk period
accession
1950.558
Source extras
tec
Silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; gold leaf, block printed
tombstone
Fragment with gold leaf lions, 1000s–1100s. Iran or Iraq, Seljuk period. Silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; gold leaf, block printed; overall: 32.1 x 40 cm (12 5/8 x 15 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1950.558
collection
T - Islamic
inscriptions
inscription
This textile belongs to a small group of printed and/or painted textiles made in Iran and Iraq during the 11th - 12th centuries. The design was printed on "mulham" (cloth having silk warps and cotton wefts) using several wooden blocks that were applied in at least seven steps. The lions, a popular motif in Seljuk art, are very similar to the lion incense burner exhibited in the case next to the carpet. Their long toes, typical of lions in works of art made in the eastern parts of Iran, suggest that this printed textile may have been made in the province of Khurasan.
didYouKnow
This is one of the comparatively few printed textiles with extensive use of costly gold to have survived from the medieval period in Iran or Iraq.
citations
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. 693
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 214
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 214
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 271
citation
Mackie, Louise W. <em>Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century</em>. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 161, fig. 4.34; Mentioned: P. 158
citation
King, Anya H., "Gilding Textiles and Printing Blocks in Tenth-Century Egypt," <em>Journal of the American Oriental Society</em> 140.2 (2020): pp. 455–465.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 455–456
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:36:12.465000
sourceId
127924
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
Silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; gold leaf, block printed
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d7a11924516d5a36