COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1989.50
amicoid
CMA_.1989.50
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Textiles
oty
Textiles
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Unknown
crn
Unknown
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Central Asian
crc
Asian; Central Asian
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Central Asia, mid-13th century
crt
Central Asia, mid-13th century
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Cloth of Gold: Winged Lions and Griffins
otn
Cloth of Gold: Winged Lions and Griffins
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
c. 1240 - 1260
oct
c. 1240 - 1260
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1240
ocs
1240
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1260
oce
1260
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
lampas, silk and gold thread
omd
lampas, silk and gold thread
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 124cm x 48.8cm
met
Overall: 124cm x 48.8cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1989.50
ooa
1989.50
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
ooc
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
Beginning in 1211, Genghis Khan invaded the Jin Empire, then proceeded across Central Asia to conquer eastern Iran and the territories east of the Oxus River (today Amu Darya) known as Transoxiana. The artisans and master craftsmen from conquered citieswere enslaved and distributed among members of the Khan's family and distinguished generals. The nomadic Mongols took these artisans, who fashioned luxury items and other highly desirable articles, to cities in Mongolia and eastern Central Asia. Historical accounts and travel narratives of the period mention them, yet little has survived of the objects, particularly the textiles, they produced.This magnificent cloth of gold is one of the few silk and gold textiles that can be associated with those craftsmen. It is woven with pairs of winged lions within aligned, tangent roundels and pairs of griffins in the interstices. The background is densely filled with scrolling vines and palmettes. Both the overall design and the animals are Persian; yet the cloud-like ornamentation of the lions' wings, the cloud scrolls at the terminals of the vines filling the background of the roundels, and the dragons' heads at the ends of the lions' tails are based on Chinese models. The synthesis of Eastern and Western elements is purely Central Asian, which is not surprising considering that captive craftsmen from the former Jin territories were working in the same cities as the captured artisans from eastern Persia and Transoxiana. The density of its design and the fact that the design was entirely woven with gold thread are characteristic of textiles produced during the Mongol period.The artistic and technical quality of this textile is unsurpassed among the silk and gold textiles that have survived from the early Mongolperiod. Given that it was once preserved in a Tibetan monastery, this textile was probably woven during the middle of the thirteenth century. The Mongols only began to make contact with Tibet in 1240 and did not sign a treaty until 1247. In honor of thatoccasion, gold, silver, and two hundred precious robes were given as imperial gifts to Tibetan monasteries. A few years later, starting in 1251, members of Genghis Khan's family began to patronize different Tibetan sects, which involved presenting gifts that, in those days, always included precious textiles. A textile of the extraordinary quality and value of this cloth of gold would almost certainly have reached Tibet as an imperial gift. A.W.
cxd
Beginning in 1211, Genghis Khan invaded the Jin Empire, then proceeded across Central Asia to conquer eastern Iran and the territories east of the Oxus River (today Amu Darya) known as Transoxiana. The artisans and master craftsmen from conquered citieswere enslaved and distributed among members of the Khan's family and distinguished generals. The nomadic Mongols took these artisans, who fashioned luxury items and other highly desirable articles, to cities in Mongolia and eastern Central Asia. Historical accounts and travel narratives of the period mention them, yet little has survived of the objects, particularly the textiles, they produced.This magnificent cloth of gold is one of the few silk and gold textiles that can be associated with those craftsmen. It is woven with pairs of winged lions within aligned, tangent roundels and pairs of griffins in the interstices. The background is densely filled with scrolling vines and palmettes. Both the overall design and the animals are Persian; yet the cloud-like ornamentation of the lions' wings, the cloud scrolls at the terminals of the vines filling the background of the roundels, and the dragons' heads at the ends of the lions' tails are based on Chinese models. The synthesis of Eastern and Western elements is purely Central Asian, which is not surprising considering that captive craftsmen from the former Jin territories were working in the same cities as the captured artisans from eastern Persia and Transoxiana. The density of its design and the fact that the design was entirely woven with gold thread are characteristic of textiles produced during the Mongol period.The artistic and technical quality of this textile is unsurpassed among the silk and gold textiles that have survived from the early Mongolperiod. Given that it was once preserved in a Tibetan monastery, this textile was probably woven during the middle of the thirteenth century. The Mongols only began to make contact with Tibet in 1240 and did not sign a treaty until 1247. In honor of thatoccasion, gold, silver, and two hundred precious robes were given as imperial gifts to Tibetan monasteries. A few years later, starting in 1251, members of Genghis Khan's family began to patronize different Tibetan sects, which involved presenting gifts that, in those days, always included precious textiles. A textile of the extraordinary quality and value of this cloth of gold would almost certainly have reached Tibet as an imperial gift. A.W.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1989.50.tif
ril
CMA_.1989.50.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false