The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2025

Brocaded velvet cushion cover with carnations

late 1500s
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 six 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 and graphic pattern is made up of carnations in three staggered rows. Carnations can be distinguished from other floral motifs by their sawtooth petals and serrated leaves.
  • 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=23 April 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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