Cleveland Museum of Art

Fragment with peacocks in ogival pattern

Date

1004–1260 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability)

Medium

Silk: plain weave with supplementary weft

Culture

Iran or Iraq, possibly Rayy

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Neither the design nor the technique of this silk provides clues to whether it was woven in Iran or Syria. As Iran and Iraq fell to the Mongol armies during the second quarter of the 1200s, many artisans fled to Syria, taking with them the techniques and patterns with which they were familiar. The inscriptions are purely decorative.

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