The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 15, 2026

A vertically long crimson velvet textile features a pattern of two columns of large, fan-shaped flowers woven in glinting silver and gold threads. The jagged-edged flowers sit atop bases of curved, serrated leaves against the red ground. Horizontal bands at the top and bottom contain six smaller arched panels framing a flower motif. The metallic threads create a shimmering, textured surface across the entire piece, with frayed edges at both ends.

Brocaded velvet cushion cover with carnations

late 1500s

Turkey, Bursa

velvet, brocaded: silk, gilt-and-silver-metal thread
Overall: 128.9 x 66.7 cm (50 3/4 x 26 1/4 in.); Mounted: 136.5 x 74.3 cm (53 3/4 x 29 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. James Albert Ford, Leonard C. Hanna Jr., The John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, Mrs. Hermon A. Kelley, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, Mrs. Harry Stratton, and J. H. Wade by exchange 1984.27
Location: Not on view

Description

The lappet designs on the top and bottom identify this textile as an Ottoman cushion cover for a royal divan, or sofa, used in the royal court. Its bold, graphic pattern is made up of carnations in three staggered rows. Carnations are distinguished from other floral motifs by their sawtooth petals and serrated leaves.
  • ?–1984
    (Spink & Son, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1984–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1914. Mentioned: P. 205, no. 138; Reproduced: P. 180, no. 138 www.jstor.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. 295, fig. 8.13; Mentioned: P. 288, 294
  • Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 21, 2016-December 4, 2017).
    Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).
  • {{cite web|title=Brocaded velvet cushion cover with carnations|url=false|author=|year=late 1500s|access-date=15 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.27