Unidentified
Fragment of Medieval Silk with Confronting Rabbits
1300-1399
Scroll
Unidentified
Fragment of Medieval Silk with Confronting Rabbits
1300-1399
Physical Qualities
Silk, gold metallic threads (gold foil around a linen core), 13 3/8 x 13 3/4 in. (34 x 34.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Saidie A. May and Blanche Adler
Object Number
1932.56.10
This blue silk fabric with rabbits and vines originated in either Mamluk Egypt (1250–1517) or Ilkhanid Iran (1256–1353) and was woven from imported natural materials. The gold likely came from mines in Egypt or the Niger Delta in western Africa, which fed a busy trade through the Sahara Desert and into the Middle East. The silk was spun from cocoons of silkworms bred in China and transported across the Gobi Desert and Himalayan Mountains. The silkworm trade continued through the Middle East and into the African continent, where local farmers eventually established silkworm farms. This global circulation of natural materials contributed to the luxury status of gold thread and silk in 14th-century Egypt and Iran.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1932; Blanche Adler.
Earth as Medium: Extracting Art from Nature
Cone Wing Rotations 2025
Peck Amerlia, ed. Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013, pp. 140-41. fig. 124.
Mayer,Christa Charlotte. Masterpieces of Western Textiles from The Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: The Art Institute, 1969, p. 45; p. 52 pl. 33; p. 55-57, pls 34-36.
Santangelo, Antonino. A Treasury of Great Italian Textiles. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, pp. 17-24; figs. 8 and 9; fig. 16 design by Jacop Bellini, design for a brocade shows similar ogival design, colorplates 4, 9, and 10 show related fabrics.
Bunt, Cyril G.E. Sicilian & Lucchese Fabrics. Leigh-on-Sea: F. Lewis, Publishers, Ltd.,1961, from The World's Heritage of Woven Fabrics, Cyril G. E. Bunt (general editor), pp. 12-13, fig. 16 (this design).
Mayer,Christa Charlotte. Masterpieces of Western Textiles from The Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: The Art Institute, 1969, p. 45; p. 52 pl. 33; p. 55-57, pls 34-36.
Santangelo, Antonino. A Treasury of Great Italian Textiles. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, pp. 17-24; figs. 8 and 9; fig. 16 design by Jacop Bellini, design for a brocade shows similar ogival design, colorplates 4, 9, and 10 show related fabrics.
Bunt, Cyril G.E. Sicilian & Lucchese Fabrics. Leigh-on-Sea: F. Lewis, Publishers, Ltd.,1961, from The World's Heritage of Woven Fabrics, Cyril G. E. Bunt (general editor), pp. 12-13, fig. 16 (this design).
Workshop
Unidentified
2000-01-01 00:00:00–2000-01-01 00:00:00
Explore the Collection Further
