Author
Unknown Unknown (designed and made by)
Publication Date
1500
Publication Place
Iran (made) -
Subject
Figures Servant Cypress Trees Blossom Lion Leopard Fish Birds Gazelle Men
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
282A-1906
Record ID
282A-1906
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1500
Notes
Woven silk dress fabric depicting a man with bottle and cup in a landscape with trees, animals and fishpond, in 1.3 twill on a satin ground, Iran, 16th century.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Woven silk in 1.3 twill on a satin ground Silk Weaving
Parçalar
Woven Silk, Woven Silk, Woven Silk, Woven Silk, Woven Silk, Woven Silk
Fiziksel açıklama
Silk woven in the lampas technique (1/3 twill on a satin ground). The pattern shows an idealised landscape inhabited by a single human figure and a variety of birds and animals. There are two cypress trees in each repeat, one paired with a flowering fruit tree. A rocky outcrop rises beside a pool with fish, which is hemmed with grass. There is also a scattering of small plants and stones. To the left of the lone cypress stands the figure of a beardless youth equipped for serving wine, with a slender-necked bottle and a drinking-bowl. He wears a short-sleeved outer robe that ends just above the ankle. It is gathered at the waist by a belt, and the central opening is fastened above the waist. Beneath the robe, the youth wears a long-sleeved garment of the same length but of a contrasting colour. The youthâs head is covered by a felt cap with a high central baton-like extension, mostly hidden by a turban cloth. He also wears an ear-ring in his right ear. The animals include two large and colourful birds; one flies in front of the lone cypress tree, while the second is apparently resting on the ground behind the other cypress. The remaining beasts are a lion, a leopard and a gazelle, as well as two fish. The two predators and their prey behave in an uncharacteristic manner â the gazelle lies on the ground, alert but unconcerned by the leopard, which lies nearby, partly obscured by the rocky outcrop, while the lion lies peacefully by the pool, apparently gazing at the fish with no intention of catching them. Other examples of silks with this pattern (see below) all show the same range of weft colours (red, blue, green, yellow, white and black), but this range seems to have been modified by fading in the case of these fragments. The whole group is remarkable for the manner in which changes in colourway were achieved by alternating the weft colours in each register of the repeat, allowing the weaver to produce the same complex design in multiple colour variations. Such variations, introduced register by register, occur in these fragments, but have been muted by fading.
