c. 1500
Textile fragment with a Mudejar pattern depicting the Tree of Life and lions on a red ground. Repeat pattern of "pairs of lanceolate leaves with their stems joined to form a small arch, the leaves sweeping outward, curving downward and then turning inward, their lengthened tips meeting and rising within the centre of a triangular enclosure. The merged leaf tips become a conventional palmette, at the base of which are plant forms. At each side of the palmette, which is intended to represent the tree of life, are crowned lions". (See Fig. 116, p. 184 of "Silk Textiles of Spain" by Florence Lewis May.
91.4 x 43.2 cm (36 x 17 in.)
Paul J. Sachs, Cambridge, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1931
Fiber
SpanishSilk, lampas weave
15th centuryIndianSilk and metallic yarns lamé and filé
17th centuryItalian?Book of swatches mounted on paper (56 sheets)
19th-20th centuryJapaneseWool and linen, tapestry woven
ByzantineFiber
20th centurySwedishTextile fibers
18th centuryFrenchSilk, Ikat woven
UzbekFiber/filament
18th centurySilk brocade with metallic yarns filé
17th centuryItalian?