Textile Fragment

Unknown

8th century · Silk; samite · Islamic Art

This silk fragment depicts a mounted hunter aiming at a leaping panther in an oval roundel with scrolling vegetation. The remains of another roundel on the left side of this fragment shows that this design would have been repeated many times over a much larger piece of silk. The motif of hunters on horseback with bows and arrows originates in Sasanian Iran but made its way into Byzantine heraldry, where it was adapted and classicized. Several examples have been found in Byzantine Egypt, and later examples including Arabic inscriptions attest to the popularity of the type over several centuries.

Artist

Unknown

Date

8th century

Medium

Silk; samite

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Hayford Peirce, 1987