Cleveland Museum of Art

Brocaded velvet cushion cover with crescents

Date

1525–75

Medium

velvet, brocaded: silk, gilt- and silver-metal thread, and cotton

Culture

Turkey, Istanbul or Bursa

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This cushion cover is one of the earliest and highest quality examples that has survived. The vibrant pattern displays large crescents inscribed with smaller crescents and elegant rosebuds on a leafy vine. The six-pointed lappet designs across each end identify its function as a cover for a cushion on a divan, the equivalent of a Western sofa. The elegant yet lively quality of the drawing, velvet weave, and dense metal thread indicate that it was made near the height of Ottoman silk textile production in the mid-1500s.

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