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Source Description
This rare silk fragment is from a luxurious hanging of brightly colored silk and shiny gold thread that displayed rows of figural roundels on a plain ground. The two turbaned men holding flasks flanking a palmette tree and the turbaned rider with a flying scarf are derived from the ancient Near Eastern imperial themes of the banquet and the hunt. The Arabic inscription framing each roundel proclaims, <em>There is no god but Allah</em>. <br><br>This piece along with several others were reportedly found in the tomb of Bishop Gurb (died 1284) in the Cathedral of Barcelona in about 1890.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
142643
label
Celestial banquet hanging, from the tomb of Bishop Gurb
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
142643
contentType
object
title
Celestial banquet hanging, from the tomb of Bishop Gurb
description
This rare silk fragment is from a luxurious hanging of brightly colored silk and shiny gold thread that displayed rows of figural roundels on a plain ground. The two turbaned men holding flasks flanking a palmette tree and the turbaned rider with a flying scarf are derived from the ancient Near Eastern imperial themes of the banquet and the hunt. The Arabic inscription framing each roundel proclaims, <em>There is no god but Allah</em>. <br><br>This piece along with several others were reportedly found in the tomb of Bishop Gurb (died 1284) in the Cathedral of Barcelona in about 1890.
date
1200–1284
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80042533
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 21.2 x 58.4 cm (8 3/8 x 23 in.); Mounted: 30.2 x 67 cm (11 7/8 x 26 3/8 in.)
cul
Spain, probably Almeria
accession
1966.368
Source extras
tec
Silk and gold thread: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave
tombstone
Celestial banquet hanging, from the tomb of Bishop Gurb, 1200–1284. Spain, probably Almeria. Silk and gold thread: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave; overall: 21.2 x 58.4 cm (8 3/8 x 23 in.); mounted: 30.2 x 67 cm (11 7/8 x 26 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1966.368
collection
T - Islamic
inscriptions
inscription
Arabic inscription bordering the roundels translates: "There is no god but God."
citations
citation
Shepherd, Dorothy G. “A Treasure from a Thirteenth-Century Spanish Tomb.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 65, no. 4 (April 1978): 111–134.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 111–134
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25159577
citation
Brett, Michael, and Werner Forman. <em>The Moors: Islam in the West</em>. London: Orbis Pub, 1980.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 15
citation
Martin Nagy, Rebecca. <em>Textiles in Daily Life in the Middle Ages</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 35–37, 58, cat no. 12; fig. 23, 25.
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.189, fig. 5.22; Mentioned: P. 189, 198
citation
Akin, Esra. <em>Muthanna / History, Theory, and Aesthetics</em>. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2020.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 134, fig. 5.5
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:19:12.155000
sourceId
142643
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
Silk and gold thread: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d330bfc2b25128e0