Velvet Fragment with Scrolling Floral Vine Design

Unknown

16th century · Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet, brocaded · Islamic Art

The motifs on this small fragment of a velvet panel are characteristic of non-figural Safavid examples also found on carpets. These include a floral vine on red ground border and a meandering vegetal pattern in olive green with blue and red accents on a beige ground in the central field. The Safavids controlled a highly-developed textile industry in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Silk textiles produced in the royal workshop were used primarily for court consumption and export. The compound weave of this brocaded velvet that utilizes metal-wrapped threads is representative of the sophisticated production of silk in Iran at this time.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th century

Medium

Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet, brocaded

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Straka and Margaret Mushekian Gifts, 1974