Textile with Pattern of Lozenges with Confronted Horned Quadrupeds, Bands with Dogs Chasing Hares, and Inscribed Bands

Unknown

probably early 20th century · Silk · Islamic Art

A decades-long controversy has centered on the authenticity of several textiles known as the “Buyid silks,” traded from the mid-1920s and allegedly dug up in Rayy, Iran. In 1924 archaeologists excavating twelfth-century tombs at that site unearthed authentic fragmentary shrouds. News spread, looting and commercial digging followed, and silk pieces appeared on the market. Carbon 14 analysis has confirmed the modernity of textiles at the Swiss Abbegg Foundation that were likely cut from the same cloth as this piece. Atypical motifs and inscriptions also raise doubts about the works’ antiquity.

Artist

Unknown

Date

probably early 20th century

Medium

Silk

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1930