Author
Unknown
Publication Place
Iran (made) -
Subject
Trees Animals Fishponds
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Length: 125cm, Width: 73.5cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
282&B, D-1906
Record ID
282&B, D-1906
Library Location
Middle East Section
Notes
These three pieces of silk textile may once have formed part of a single garment, which was taken apart before it was sold to the V&A. In its original form, the garment must have been spectacularly beautiful, and we can still appreciate the design of the silk today. The silk was made in Iran in the 16th century, when it became the custom to use large human and animal motifs in the decorative arts. The patrons of this type of design were the rulers of the Safavid dynasty (1500â1722). Indeed, the single human figure depicted on this textile is wearing the type of headgear that marked out the dynastyâs supporters during its early years in power. The headgear consisted of a cloth wrapped around a felt cap with a long, baton-like extension. The human figure is a young serving man, who holds a wine bottle and a small cup. He stands beside a pair of elegant cypress trees and a fruit tree, which is in bloom. One fantastic bird flies in front of the nearest cypress, while another sits on the ground. Behind the serving man a lion lies beside a pool fringed by grass, in which fish swim. Beyond the pool is a rocky outcrop, and beyond that a gazelle lies at rest, unperturbed by a leopard nearby. All these motifs, including the human figure, form the background to princely activities shown in Iranian manuscript illustrations of the same period.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Silk thread woven in the lampas technique
Parçalar
Woven Silk, Dress Fabric, Dress Fabric
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.
Üslup
Safavid
