id: 129264 accession number: 1952.152 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.152 updated: 2020-04-01 09:00:19.167000 Lampas with griffins in roundels, from the Reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral, 1100-50. Spain, Almeria. Lampas and plain-weave variant: silk and gold thread; overall: 52.7 x 63.5 cm (20 3/4 x 25 in.); mounted: 61 x 71.1 cm (24 x 28 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1952.152 title: Lampas with griffins in roundels, from the Reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1100-50 creation date earliest: 1100 creation date latest: 1150 current location: 116 Islamic creditline: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund copyright: --- culture: Spain, Almeria technique: lampas and plain-weave variant: silk and gold thread department: Textiles collection: T - Islamic type: Textile find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 52.7 x 63.5 cm (20 3/4 x 25 in.); Mounted: 61 x 71.1 cm (24 x 28 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Art: The International Language opening date: 1956-10-02T04:00:00 Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956). title: Islamic art rotation opening date: 2013-12-19T05:00:00 Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 2013-December 8, 2014). title: Al-Andalus: Art from Islamic Spain (Islamic art rotation) opening date: 2019-10-29T04:00:00 Al-Andalus: Art from Islamic Spain (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 29, 2019-October 26, 2020). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Spanish Medieval Art. The Cloisters, New York, NY (December 15, 1954-January 30, 1955). * Gallery 216. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July, 1991-?). * --- PROVENANCE the silk fragment was found c. 1948 in the Cathedral of Siguenza, Spain, in the reliquary of Saint Librada (1st c.) , whose relics were restored to the Cathedral in the 12th century; it is said to have been brought there from Almeria in 1147 by Alphonse VII date: footnotes: citations: (Paul O. Berliz, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: ?-1952 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1952- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Mirrored griffins with gold heads dominate these roundels, as they turn their heads unnaturally to stare at each other across their wing tips. The pairs of dragons in the framing border, however, have lost their artistic impact since the green silk thread has disintegrated into brown specks.

Luxury silks woven in Islamic Spain were worn by Christian kings throughout Europe. Their patterns also influenced designs in Jewish synagogues and were the standard aesthetic of the elaborately decorated walls in the Muslim Alhambra palace in Granada. This silk is from the reliquary of Saint Librada in Siguenza Cathedral, northeast of Madrid. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 121 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n35 Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. page number: Reproduced: p. 178-179; Mentioned: p. 180 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.152/1952.152_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.152/1952.152_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.152/1952.152_full.tif