Author
Unknown
Publication Date
700
Publication Place
Iran (made) Turkey (made) Turkey (made) -
Subject
Islam Textiles
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Height: 36.5cm, Max width: 54.3cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
761-1893
Record ID
761-1893
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
700
Notes
This patterned silk fragment with a blue ground and red, green and white pattern shows the fabulous creature, the sÄnmurw, enclosed in a roundel of pearls. Part bird, part beast, the sÄnmurw is a creation of Sasanian art, although it was derived from more ancient Babylonian and Assyrian cultures, as well as from the sea-horse of Greek art. When the silk was acquired in 1893, it was said to have come from the tomb of a bishop in Verdun Cathedral, France. Exotic patterned silks were desired not only by European rulers but also reverently valued for use in Christian rituals, such as wrapping relics, and as vestments. Many examples of imported silks have survived in European church treasuries and tombs.
Sample Text
Transliteration,
Tarihsel bağlam
Smaller scale polychrome sÄnmurw silks have survived in greater numbers than the large scale version (8579-1863). No such silks have been found in Iran. Winged horses and winged lions were popular beasts in Sasanian mythology but the most striking was the sÄnmurw. Part bird, part beast, the sÄnmurw is a creation of Sasanian art, although it was derived from more ancient Babylonian and Assyrian cultures, as well as from the sea-horse of Greek art. When the Arabs conquered Iran they took over the Sasanid workshops and incorporated the existing repertoire of designs into their own silk weavings with little modification. The naturalism of Greek art had already, in the few remaining relics of the Sasanid dynasty, given way to a degree of stylisation which was further extended in Byzantine and, more particularly, Islamic textile arts. It is therefore not surprising to find a Sasanian sÄnmurw on an Iranian Islamic silk a century or more later. Three figures (visiting ambassadors from the region south of Uzbekistan) on a painting in Afrasiab, an ancient city near Samarkand, wear costumes with Sasanian motifs, including the sÄnmurw. The painting is dated to the late 7th century by a Sogdian inscription (Albaoum, L. I., Zhivolis Afrasiab , Tashkent 1975). The correct Middle Persian (Pahlavi) form is sÄnmurw. One would expect the final -w to become -v in New Persian, but in fact New Persian uses a different dialect form, sÄ«murγ (sÄ«murgh), so the form *sÄnmurv does not actually occur; Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams (29/02/2012)
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Pattern woven silk Silk Patterned Weave
Fiziksel açıklama
Red, green and white sÄnmurw silk on a dark blue ground. Main decoration formed by mirrored sÄnmurws within a pearled roundel. A smaller circle surrounded by pearled dots and hosting a four-petal pattern links the sÄnmurw roundel to another on each side. There appears to be a piece of red fabric still attached to the lower end of the fabric. Weft-faced compound twill with paired main warps, tightly z-spun and no apparent twist of weft. The roundels with sÄnmurws are of different height. Old repairs, crude darning.
Üslup
Sasanian
