
Collection Online as of February 7, 2023
Silk: lampas weave
Overall: 171 x 65 cm (67 5/16 x 25 9/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1962.264
not on view
A design in dark brown on a background of dark tan preserves five nearly complete double-headed "eagles" and almost half of a sixth, arranged in aligned rows. Each eagle grasps griffins in its talons. Small birds decorate the shoulders of its wings, and on the wing of each small bird is inscribed with the word “mercy.” Superimposed on the eagle, as if being carried, is a small standing human figure which bears on the upper part of its arms the word “blessing.” At the top of the textile, a Kufic inscription repeats a line from the diwan, collected poetry, of al-Buhturi.