Artwork Page for Cloth of gold with felines and eagles

Details / Information for Cloth of gold with felines and eagles

Cloth of gold with felines and eagles

1225–75
Measurements
Overall: 170.5 x 109 cm (67 1/8 x 42 15/16 in.); Mounted: 179.1 x 118.7 x 13.3 cm (70 1/2 x 46 3/4 x 5 1/4 in.)
Public Domain
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Location
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Did You Know?

Mongol cloths of gold, called nasji, incorporate Iranian, Central Asian, and Chinese features, reflecting the effects of gift exchanges and international commerce.

Description

Mongol taste for luxury was equated with gold, symbol of imperial authority, power, and legitimacy. This splendid cloth of gold-exceptionally large and luxurious-may have enriched the interior of a palace or a majestic tent. The golden pattern, although tarnished on the faded red silk ground, features scalloped medallions with felines whose long tails terminate in dragons’ heads amid elegant floral vines. Double-headed eagles form interstitial motifs on the floral ground. A radiant gold-on-gold band of pseudo-Arabic script enriches the top, woven with gold strips wrapped around a silk core on a ground of flat strips of gold, immediately beneath the pattern testing area.
A vertically long golden silk textile fragment features a pattern of two columns of scalloped circles enclosing back-to-back felines that turn to look at each other, winding tails ending in dragons' heads against a foliate background. In the space between circles, double-headed eagles spread their wings against the floral background. A band of pseudo-Arabic script extends across the top. The gold has tarnished and faded, with streaks suggesting the original red ground.

Cloth of gold with felines and eagles

1225–75

Northeast Iran

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