CC0 · no rights reserved
Fragment with falconer and attendant in animated lattice, from a robe
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This velvet of Iran’s Safavid period (1501–1722) displaying a falconry scene is celebrated for its refined beauty and meticulous draftsmanship. A falconer and attendant flank a blossoming plant on a golden ground of lobed medallions. Animated vines display leaves bearing lion’s masks and dragons coiled around larger leaves on the crimson ground. Instead of two or three colors of velvet, Iranian weavers wove with as many as 14 colors, the most colorful velvets ever woven.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineFragment with falconer and attendant in animated lattice, from a robe, mid-1500s. Iran, Kashan, Safavid period (1501–1722). Silk: velvet, brocaded, pile-warp substitution; gilt-metal thread; overall: 79.4 x 66.7 cm (31 1/4 x 26 1/4 in.); mounted: 89.5 x 74.9 cm (35 1/4 x 29 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1944.239
