4th-6th century
Large tapestry woven dark green leaf with light green, blue, red, and white details. Undyed warps running perpendicular to the design. The tapestry leaf currently sits atop a plain woven linen fabric. The large size of the leaf suggests this is a fragment cut from a hanging or furnishing rather than a garment. Roman and Byzantine hangings and curtains commonly featured large plant motifs that created the sense of an indoor garden and played with the divisions between interior and exterior space.
29.85 x 17.15 cm (11 3/4 x 6 3/4 in.)
Compound silk and metal thread weave
19th centuryPersianSilk damask
16th-17th centuryItalianJute, twisted paper, and cellophane, basket weave
20th centuryGermanBook of swatches mounted on paper (56 sheets)
19th-20th centuryJapaneseChain stitch embroidery of silk thread on unbleached cotton.
17th-18th centuryIndiansilk (cut and uncut velvet)
17th-18th centuryItalian