The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 24, 2025

Textile with Palmettes

1200s–1300s
Silk and gold thread; tabby with supplementary weft
Overall: 85.5 x 35 cm (33 11/16 x 13 3/4 in.); Mounted: 106.7 x 50.8 cm (42 x 20 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1993.253
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Some of the original coral-red background can be seen along the edges, where it hasn't faded to off-white.

Description

Designs of repeated ogives were popular in Central Asia and survive in a number of variations. Usually, the ogival frame encloses a floral motif, as in this example. Sometimes paired animals occur instead. Silks with this type of pattern were exported to Western Asia and to Europe, where they inspired textile designs woven locally. Mongol silks with exotic floral and animal patterns were acquired for use as clothing and furnishings by the clergy and nobility. They were also used by painters as models for hangings or garments.
  • ?–1993
    (Loewi - Robertson, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1993–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “1993 Annual Report.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (1994): 143–218. Mentioned: p. 167 www.jstor.org
    Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 46, pp. 160–161
    Shea, Eiren. "The Spread of Gold Thread Production in the Mongol Period: A Study of Gold Textiles in the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou." Journal of Song-Yuan Studies 50 (2021). pp. 381–415; Reproduced: pp. 366–372.
  • Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 7, 2024-January 26, 2025) https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/siena-the-rise-of-painting-1300-1350; National Gallery, London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (March 8-June 22, 2025).
    When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Textile with Palmettes|url=false|author=|year=1200s–1300s|access-date=24 June 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1993.253