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Collection record · Dress & textiles

Fragment with inscriptions

The collection record classifies this work as textile. It is dated before 1982. Recorded culture or place: Iran, in the style of the Seljuq period (1037–1194).

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OBJECT RECORD

A closer look at the details.

Museum title
Fragment with inscriptions
Date
before 1982
Culture / origin
Iran, in the style of the Seljuq period (1037–1194)
Materials and technique
Silk: lampas weave
Dimensions
Overall: 28 x 35.5 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Artist / maker
Not specified by the museum
Museum
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession number
1982.20

FROM THE MUSEUM

In the museum’s words

The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.

This silk fragment preserves a small-scale design organized in vertical stripes. Starting from the left edge, the first and fifth stripes contain in sequence a diamond enclosing a griffin, a rectangle containing an inscription, and an oval containing an inscription. Above and below each oval are paired birds; floral tendrils fill the interspaces. In the second and fourth stripes, diamonds containing rosettes are followed by rectangles containing inscriptions and then by octagons enclosing floral ornament and Arabic inscriptions. The third and seventh stripes are similar in that diamonds alternate with ovals against a very finely striped ground, but the ovals contain different inscriptions surrounded by leaves. The diamonds of the third stripe contain a palmette while those of the seventh stripe contain more Arabic and small leaves. The sixth and eighth stripes repeat, in sequence, an octagon with leaves and Arabic inscription, a rectangle with Arabic inscription, and a diamond filled with a floral device. The ground is ornamented with a small diaper pattern. Pairs of narrow bands containing disconnected chevrons or tiny repeated rectangles separate the stripes.

The inscriptions repeat isolated words: Peace, Happiness, The Mercy of God, Health, Generosity, Prosperity, Kingdom.

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Text and image sources

The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0

The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.

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