Unidentified
Fragment of Medieval Silk with Confronting Rabbits
14th century
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.
Brenda Richardson, Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, 'Body and Soul,' Nayland Blake, 'Invisible Man,' June 22 - Oct. 9, 1994. (One of the collection pieces chosen to accompany the exhibition.)
Workshop
Unidentified
