Central Asia, Mongol period, 13 century or earlier / Lions and Palmettes / c. 13th century

Central Asia, Mongol period, 13 century or earlier
Lions and Palmettes
c. 13th century
View Larger Image

View Full Catalog Record Below

This image is one of over 108,000 from the AMICA Library (formerly The Art Museum Image Consortium Library- The AMICO Library™), a growing online collection of high-quality, digital art images from over 20 museums around the world. www.davidrumsey.com/amica offers subscriptions to this collection, the finest art image database available on the internet. EVERY image has full curatorial text and can be studied in depth by zooming into the smallest details from within the Image Workspace.

Preview the AMICA Library™ Public Collection in Luna Browser Now

Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works.
Types of works include paintings, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, furniture, prints, photographs, textiles, decorative art, books and manuscripts.

Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com .

Creator Name: Unknown
Creator Nationality: Asian; Central Asian
Creator Name-CRT: Central Asia, Mongol period, 13 century or earlier
Title: Lions and Palmettes
Title Type: Primary
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1180
Creation End Date: 1319
Creation Date: c. 13th century
Object Type: Textiles
Classification Term: Tapestries
Materials and Techniques: tapestry, silk and gold thread
Dimensions: Overall: 63.5cm x 34.7cm
AMICA Contributor: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 1991.3
Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Rights: http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html
Context: Lions with PalmettesTapestry (kesi); silk and gold threadCentral Asia, 1200s or earlier, Mongol Period (1207-1368)The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1991.3(Cat. no. 19)The depiction of lions with parted manes and tilted headsdates from theSasanian dynasty of Iran (ad 226-637). The palmettes, on the other hand,are common to both the Iranian world and Central Asia. This kesi may havebeen woven by Uyghurs living in the vicinity of Khotan, where the influenceof Iranian culture was strong.The kesi is distinguished from other Central Asian silk tapestries by therepetition of lions and palmettes in horizontal rows. This pattern istypical of silks woven on drawlooms. Whereas a tapestry loom was extremelysimple, giving the weaver thefreedom to create whatever pattern he wished,the highly complex drawloom was specifically designed to repeat a givenmotif or group of motifs.Another kesi with this design preserves part of a cloud-collar medallion(see photograph). Since the looms were narrow, two panels had to be joinedtogether to complete the design (see diagram).
AMICA ID: CMA_.1991.3
AMICA Library Year: 1998
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, The Cleveland Museum of Art

AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder.