Cleveland Museum of Art

Lions from a Tunic

Date

c. 800's

Medium

tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping; undyed linen and dyed wool

Culture

Egypt, Islamic Abbasid period, 8th - 9th Century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The royal lions and jeweled border in this colorful roundel, originally from a tunic, conveyed power and wealth. The symmetrical design with lions and ducks flanking the central palmette (fan-shaped plant form) indicates that the pattern was copied from a costlier silk textile woven on a loom that automatically repeated the design in mirror-image symmetry.

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