Textile Fragment with Facing Pairs of Birds Flanking a Tree of Life

Unknown

11th–12th century · Silk; samite · Islamic Art

The motif of facing birds on either side of a tree has a long history in Iran and other parts of the Islamic world, but it also became popular throughout the Byzantine Empire and developed around the area of the Mediterranean Sea. Very often it is difficult to determine where textiles of this design were made.

Artist

Unknown

Date

11th–12th century

Medium

Silk; samite

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1944