The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2025

Samite with roundels of rosettes

700s-800s
samite: silk
Overall: 17.7 x 17.7 cm (6 15/16 x 6 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1950.514
Location: not on view

Description

This is one of a large number of silks woven with geometric designs that have traditionally been attributed to Sogdiana. However, the untwisted warps and light weight of the silk indicate that it was woven farther east in Central Asia where Sogdian influence was strong. Similar geometric patterns occur on clothing depicted in paintings found in the Khotan oasis. That region maintained close cultural and economic ties with Sogdiana. Whether this silk was woven in the Khotan oasis or elsewhere in Central Asia is not known.
  • found in Egypt
    ?–1950
    (Dr. Emil Delmar [1876–1959], Budapest, Hungary, and New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1950–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Müller-Christensen, Sigrid, Mechthild Flury-Lemberg, and Karen Stolleis. Documenta textilia: Festschrift für Sigrid Müller-Christensen. München: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1981. p.120
    Shepherd, Dorothy G. 1981. “Zandaniji Revisited.” Documenta Textilia / Hrsg. Von Mechthild Flury-Lemberg Und Karen Stolleis 105-122. p. 105-122 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997. figure 2, p. 22, p. 33
    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. 55, fig. 2.16; Mentioned: P. 55
  • 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).
  • {{cite web|title=Samite with roundels of rosettes|url=false|author=|year=700s-800s|access-date=22 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.514