The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Clavi (Decorative Band)

Clavi (Decorative Band)

700s
(661–750) or Abbasid period (750–1258)
Overall: 81 x 20.3 cm (31 7/8 x 8 in.); Mounted: 92.7 x 68.6 cm (36 1/2 x 27 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Classical figures and winged animals remained popular during the early Islamic period. The nude male may portray Dionysus, Greek god of wine; he holds his thyrsus, a staff ornamented with ivy leaves and pine cones, as he pours liquid from a small jug for the panther. These colorful designs would have decorated the front or back of a tunic and one sleeve. Elaborate embellishments were cherished. Thus, once a tunic began to fray, its decoration was sewn onto a new one, as seen on this winter-weight woolen tunic cloth. Its finely detailed motifs, some with eccentric drawing, are woven in tapestry weave, the equivalent of painting with weft thread; discontinuous horizontal wefts are interlaced only where needed in the design.
  • Mrs. Paul Mallon, Paris.
  • Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13, 2019-May 11, 2020).
    Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 18, 2014-March 2, 2015).
    Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 2001-October 15, 2002).
    Textiles from Egypt, Syria and Spain: 7th through 15th centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 26-June 6, 1991).
  • {{cite web|title=Clavi (Decorative Band)|url=false|author=|year=700s|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.107.a