Artwork Page for Velvet with Pomegranate Pattern

Details / Information for Velvet with Pomegranate Pattern

Velvet with Pomegranate Pattern

1450–1500

Italy, Florence

Medium
silk, gold thread; velvet: three heights of cut pile, gold thread loops
Measurements
Overall: 300.9 x 56.5 cm (118 7/16 x 22 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1973.20
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

This extravagant Italian velvet with three heights of lush crimson pile is lavishly embellished with gold-thread loops. Large pomegranate patterns such as this were fashionable in Europe for more than a century, about 1420 to 1550, and were often featured in paintings and in large wall tapestries. Variations occurred in pattern details, pile height, and gold thread. Since pomegranates symbolized eternity, fertility, and resurrection, these velvets were often used in Roman Catholic churches. This pomegranate pattern inspired the cope, or cloak, worn by the Archbishop of Canterbury when he officiated the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
A vertically long woven silk textile features thick burgundy velvet pomegranate motifs against a shimmering beige background of metallic gold threads. These stylized fruits are encased in scalloped borders and connected by thick, undulating bands that curve along the strip. Intricate floral and leaf designs fill the spaces between the primary patterns. The burgundy velvet provides a raised texture, while fine gold threads add detail and shine across the surface.

Velvet with Pomegranate Pattern

1450–1500

Italy, Florence

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