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Source Description
This fragment preserves part of the main field and border of a large textile. At the top is a small segment of a roundel frame with fragments of a pair of confronted animals; at the lower right is part of a smaller roundel in which only the hind part of a lion or griffin remains. Below the roundels is a section of a wide border with a large bird wearing Sasanian flying ribbons about its neck. It is framed in a roundel formed by the tendrils of a scrolling vine. A narrow band at the bottom has a badly garbled Kufic inscription, which is upside down in relation to the rest of the pattern. Only the word "Allah" repeated twice can be deciphered.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
129826
label
Embroidered border and field of animals in large roundels
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
129826
contentType
object
title
Embroidered border and field of animals in large roundels
description
This fragment preserves part of the main field and border of a large textile. At the top is a small segment of a roundel frame with fragments of a pair of confronted animals; at the lower right is part of a smaller roundel in which only the hind part of a lion or griffin remains. Below the roundels is a section of a wide border with a large bird wearing Sasanian flying ribbons about its neck. It is framed in a roundel formed by the tendrils of a scrolling vine. A narrow band at the bottom has a badly garbled Kufic inscription, which is upside down in relation to the rest of the pattern. Only the word "Allah" repeated twice can be deciphered.
date
1000s–1100s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79911348
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 26.7 x 12.4 cm (10 1/2 x 4 7/8 in.)
cul
Iraq, probably Baghdad, Seljuk period
accession
1952.257
Source extras
tec
plain weave: silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; silk and gold thread: embroidery, couched, split, running, and outline stitches:
tombstone
Embroidered border and field of animals in large roundels, 1000s–1100s. Iraq, probably Baghdad, Seljuk period. Plain weave: silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; silk and gold thread: embroidery, couched, split, running, and outline stitches:; overall: 26.7 x 12.4 cm (10 1/2 x 4 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1952.257
collection
T - Islamic
inscriptions
inscription
Kufic inscription in the narrow band at the bottom. Only the word "Allah" repeated twice can be deciphered.
sortorder
1
didYouKnow
Another fragment of this textile, lavishly embroidered with gilt-metal and silk thread on <em>mulham</em>, is now in the collection of the <a href="https://collections.mfa.org/objects/46177/fragment-with-mythological-animals-in-roundels"><u>MFA Boston, 37.103</u></a><u>.</u>
citations
citation
Lamm, C. J. <em>Cotton in Mediaeval Textiles of the Near East</em>. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1937.
page_number
p. 126
citation
Wiet, Gaston. “Tissus Brodes Mesopotamiens.” <em>Ars Islamica</em> 4 (1937): 54–63.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 43–62, fig. 2
citation
Niño, Felipa. <em>Las mitras de Roda</em>. Madrid: Instituto Diego Velazquez, 1941.
page_number
p. 143
citation
Neils, Jenifer. "The Twain Shall Meet." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 6 (1985): 326-–359.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 61
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25159914
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. 158, fig. 4.30; Mentioned: P. 156
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:41:56.779000
sourceId
129826
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
plain weave: silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; silk and gold thread: embroidery, couched, split, running, and outline stitches:
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
9863af70f79f705c