The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Roundel with figure

1000s

Egypt, Fatimid period

Linen and silk: plain weave with inwoven tapestry weave
Overall: 13.1 x 12.8 cm (5 3/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1952.255
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The Arabic word for God, written in Naskhi, appears below the figure's left arm and repeats upside down in the other spaces around him.

Description

A running figure clad in a short tunic, turban, and low boots is portrayed in this roundel. The figure holds in his right hand a string attached to a falcon which stands in the space beneath his outstretched left hand. In the upper background are foliate forms on long curving stems. The roundel is framed with a border decorated with a pseudo-inscription in deformed Kufic letters against a floriate background.
  • ?–1952
    (Dikran G. Kelekian [1867–1951], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1952–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Shepherd, Dorothy. "Two Fatimid Tapestry Roundels." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 39, no. 8 (October 1952): 215-217. Reproduced: p. 212; Mentioned: p. 215 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 692 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. 270 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. 116, fig. 3.34; Mentioned: p. 116
    Akin, Esra. Muthanna / History, Theory, and Aesthetics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2020. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 289, fig. C.3
  • Textiles from Egypt, Syria and Spain: 7th through 15th centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 26-June 6, 1991).
    Symposium on Falconry. Presidential Court Palace, Sheikh Zayed al-Nihayan, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (organizer) (December 10-18, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=Roundel with figure|url=false|author=|year=1000s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.255