id:			156047
accession number:	1991.3
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1991.3
updated:		2022-02-12 10:00:29.349000

Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes, 1200s or earlier. Central Asia. Silk, gold thread; tapestry weave; overall: 63.5 x 34.7 cm (25 x 13 11/16 in.); mounted: 73.7 x 45.7 cm (29 x 18 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1991.3

title:				Tapestry with golden lions and palmettes
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1200s or earlier
creation date earliest:		1150
creation date latest:		1299
current location:		
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Central Asia
technique:	silk, gold thread; tapestry weave
department:	Textiles
collection:	T - Islamic
type:		Textile
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 63.5 x 34.7 cm (25 x 13 11/16 in.); Mounted: 73.7 x 45.7 cm (29 x 18 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum
	opening date:   1991-06-07T04:00:00
	<i>Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

	title:		When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art
	opening date:   1997-10-19T00:00:00
	<i>When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art</i>. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).

	title:		The World of Kubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty
	opening date:   2010-09-20T00:00:00
	<i>The World of Kubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty</i>. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 20, 2010-January 2, 2011).

	title:		Luxuriance: Silks from Islamic Lands, 1250-1900
	opening date:   2013-05-14T04:00:00
	<i>Luxuriance: Silks from Islamic Lands, 1250-1900</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 14, 2013-June 23, 2014).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
This colorful, robust pattern features spirited Iranian golden lions, traditional symbols of royalty, amid large palmette leaves on vines that repeat, facing alternate directions in an asymmetrical Chinese-inspired layout. The regular repetition of the design indicates that it was influenced by silk patterns that were preset on large drawlooms, whereas variations in the motifs and colors confirm it was woven by hand in the tapestry technique. The pattern was created with silk thread in 13 rich colors and gold thread on parchment strips wrapped around a yellow core for increased visibility. This luxury fabric served as a container, most likely for imperial correspondence, a forerunner of paper envelopes today.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Turner, Evan H. "Selected 1991 Acquisitions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 79, no. 2 (1992): 63-83.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 67; Mentioned: p. 83
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161350

	Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997.
	page number: 	p. 80-2
	url:		

	Watt, James C. Y., and Maxwell K. Hearn. The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010.
	page number: 	fig. 260, p. 246
	url:		

	Mackie, Louise W. <em>Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century</em>. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 36, fig. 1.20a, P. 229, fig. 6.14; Mentioned: P. 228
	url:		

	Highet, Juliet. "Silks from Islamic Lands." <em>The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries</em> 17, issue 5 (March 2014):16-18.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 18
	url:		

	Fircks, Juliane von. "Dou Royaume des Tartares vient Drap Dor et de Soie." Histoire de l'Art 82, issue 1 (2018).
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 176, fig. 9
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1991.3/1991.3_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1991.3/1991.3_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1991.3/1991.3_full.tif