Cleveland Museum of Art

Section of Silk Fabric with Falconers Amid Rose Bushes

Date

c. 1675

Medium

Silk and silver-metal thread: twill weave with complementary and discontinuous weft

Culture

Iran, Safavid period (1501–1722)

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Twill-weave fabrics were used to make garments, especially jackets, during the Safavid period. It was not until after the 1570s that Iranian textiles began to regularly feature the human figure as a decorative motif. Weavers drew from Persian paintings for their subject matter, such as the favorite princely pastime of falconing. Trained falcons were brought on royal hunts to locate and retrieve the prey; close relationships developed between the falcon and the falconer.

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