Artwork Page for Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes

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Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes

1450–1500

Italy, Florence, 15th century

Medium
silk, velvet: cut pile and voided
Measurements
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.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1943.67
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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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.

Four-color Velvet with Medici Armorial in Rosettes

1450–1500

Italy, Florence, 15th century

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