Textile Fragments

Unknown

15th century · Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas · Islamic Art

These rectangular red silk textile fragments, which may have once been joined, are decorated with floral patterns, leaves, heraldic shields, and crowned lions, and embellished with gold-colored thread. Mudejar craftsmen delighted in the pomegranate, palmette and lotus motifs and used them often in combination with animals or birds. Long horizontal lines of flowers bend in one direction and another, giving the illusion of blossoms swaying in a breeze. Other decorative elements in these fragments include rows of crowned lions as well as coroneted shields which move in alternating rhythm. These are likely iconographic references to the blazon of Castille-Leon, and may have been produced for patrons from this region of northern Spain.

Artist

Unknown

Date

15th century

Medium

Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1915