Lampas Fragment and Case

Unknown

11th–12th century · Silk · Islamic Art

Although this textile has been identified as Seljuq, the very rounded cursive script of its inscription relates most closely to Il-Khanid tile inscriptions from the second half of the 13th century. Moreover, the use of roundels, while attested in Seljuq textiles, was equally popular under the Mongol Il-Khans. The depiction of the birds and palmettes is somewhat more simplified and stylized than those found on Seljuq textiles. This textile fragment, most likely from a robe, is decorated with a repeating pattern of a pair of addorsed regardant birds surrounded by an inscription band containing four iterations of the phrase "glory and dominion" in Arabic. The birds appear to be falcons, a symbol of power in the medieval eastern Islamic world. Following their conquests in Central Asia, Iran, and Iraq, the Mongol Il-Khans became very wealthy and developed a taste for silk garments that range from the most opulent and expensive cloths of gold to plain silk woven in various complex techniques.

Artist

Unknown

Date

11th–12th century

Medium

Silk

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2016