The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 7, 2025

Fragment with gold leaf lions

1000s–1100s

Iran or Iraq, Seljuk period

Silk warp and cotton weft (mulham): plain weave; gold leaf, block printed
Overall: 32.1 x 40 cm (12 5/8 x 15 3/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1950.558
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This is one of the comparatively few printed textiles with extensive use of costly gold to have survived from the medieval period in Iran or Iraq.

Description

Gold was block-printed onto mulham cloth with figures of lions—symbols of the royal hunt and imperial power. Gold lions adorned with collars and palmettes enliven squares on dark-brown and undyed mulham groups in a checkerboard layout. The pattern was printed with several blocks on the mulham surface. The process included drawing outlines with black ink and block printing with gold powder and dark-brown pigment, each mixed with a binding medium. The gold paint was flattened with rubbing, which created a good imitation of gold leaf.
  • ?–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
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 693 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 214 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 214 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 271 archive.org
    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. 161, fig. 4.34; Mentioned: P. 158
    King, Anya H., "Gilding Textiles and Printing Blocks in Tenth-Century Egypt," Journal of the American Oriental Society 140.2 (2020): pp. 455–465. Mentioned: pp. 455–456
  • {{cite web|title=Fragment with gold leaf lions|url=false|author=|year=1000s–1100s|access-date=07 November 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.558