Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=E08195112908920C044934F7E002D0B448FF4397694D8889DD1C9C09C79C3023&s=24247294&se=1872408933&v=6&f=1991.3_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=42D6E835E3FE0B5C8E33CCB2207BABADAB65B492C7314F85A39D36EBF3808088&s=24247294&se=1872408933&v=1&f=%5C1991.3_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=619C8AA84C9FCCA3C3E7EB6C5317EDB54E6894404404FF069E50F1C457C02913&s=24247294&se=1872408933&v=1&f=%5C1991.3det02_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=619C8AA84C9FCCA3ED02E6C15AD31966B01E09AFC8075DBC761CBCF9F059D472&s=24247294&se=1872408933&v=1&f=%5C1991.3det03_o2.jpg

Additional Views

Sep 3, 2008

Nov 9, 2012

Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes

1200s or earlier

Central Asia

Silk, gold thread; tapestry weave

Overall: 63.5 x 34.7 cm (25 x 13 11/16 in.); Mounted: 73.7 x 45.7 cm (29 x 18 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1991.3

Location

not on view

Description

This colorful, robust pattern features spirited Iranian golden lions, traditional symbols of royalty, amid large palmette leaves on vines that repeat, facing alternate directions in an asymmetrical Chinese-inspired layout. The regular repetition of the design indicates that it was influenced by silk patterns that were preset on large drawlooms, whereas variations in the motifs and colors confirm it was woven by hand in the tapestry technique. The pattern was created with silk thread in 13 rich colors and gold thread on parchment strips wrapped around a yellow core for increased visibility. This luxury fabric served as a container, most likely for imperial correspondence, a forerunner of paper envelopes today.

Video

Provenance

?–1991

(Spink & Son, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1991–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Turner, Evan H. "Selected 1991 Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 2 (1992): 63-83. Reproduced: p. 67; Mentioned: p. 83 www.jstor.org

Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1997. cat. no. 19, p. 80-2

Watt, James C. Y., and Maxwell K. Hearn. The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. Reproduced: fig. 260, p. 246

Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Reproduced: P. 36, fig. 1.20a, P. 229, fig. 6.14; Mentioned: P. 228

Highet, Juliet. "Silks from Islamic Lands." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries 17, issue 5 (March 2014):16-18. Reproduced: p. 18

Fircks, Juliane von. "Dou Royaume des Tartares vient Drap Dor et de Soie." Histoire de l'Art 82, issue 1 (2018). Reproduced: p. 176, fig. 9

Exhibition history

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).

The World of Kubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 20, 2010-January 2, 2011).

Luxuriance: Silks from Islamic Lands, 1250-1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 14, 2013-June 23, 2014).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1991.3|year=1200s or earlier|access-date=03 October 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.

You are here:

Images

Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes

Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes

Central Asia

Location

Download and Share

Description

Video

Contact us