CC0 · no rights reserved
Lions from a Tunic
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The royal lions and jeweled border in this colorful roundel, originally from a tunic, conveyed power and wealth. The symmetrical design with lions and ducks flanking the central palmette (fan-shaped plant form) indicates that the pattern was copied from a costlier silk textile woven on a loom that automatically repeated the design in mirror-image symmetry.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineLions from a Tunic, c. 800's. Egypt, Islamic Abbasid period, 8th - 9th Century. Tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping; undyed linen and dyed wool; overall: 23 x 23 cm (9 1/16 x 9 1/16 in.); mounted: 29.2 x 29.2 cm (11 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1982.83.a
