Silk with Griffins

Unknown

first half 13th century · Silk, silver-gilt metal on parchment over cotton · The Cloisters

This exceptionally rare medieval textile is stylistically close to silks from the palls of 13th-century tombs excavated from the royal necropolis at Las Huelgas in Burgos. The extensive use of metallic threads creates a reflective quality and gives texture to the animated griffins. At the upper end, a band of repeating palmettes acts as a bridge to a partly lost pseudo-Kufic inscription. The piece is said to have been purchased from a Tibetan monastery, suggesting that it may have been sent eastward as a gift soon after its manufacture.

Artist

Unknown

Date

first half 13th century

Medium

Silk, silver-gilt metal on parchment over cotton

Culture

Central Asian, Sicilian, or North African

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1984