The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 13, 2026

A silk textile fragment features tall, dark blue-gray floriated Kufic script against a cream background. The script rises into vertical stems ending in scrolling leaf motifs. A narrow horizontal band of interlaced braided patterns borders the top. The fragment exhibits irregular, frayed edges, particularly on the right side where the fabric has worn away. The entire piece is mounted on a larger background of light-brown striped cloth.

Fragment from Funeral Garment or Pall

before 1958

Iran

Silk: lampas weave, brocaded
Overall: 28.3 x 18.5 cm (11 1/8 x 7 5/16 in.)
Gift of Adolph Loewi 1958.131
Location: Not on view

Description

A wide band of large-scale Kufic inscription repeating the first words from a diwan of poems attributed to the Caliph Ali is brocaded in blue on a tan ground. The inscription runs at right angles to the warp. Above is a narrow guilloche band. Both bands are defined by guard stripes.
  • Originally reported as having been found near Bibi Shahr Banu, near Rayy, Iran
    ?-1958
    Adolph Loewi [1888-1977], Los Angeles, CA, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1958-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Fragment from Funeral Garment or Pall|url=false|author=|year=before 1958|access-date=13 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.131