Roundel with Central Asian-style "Candelabra Tree"

7th–9th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 451

This beige and green silk textile fragment displays a roundel with a border of scrolling vines and leaves, at the center of which a stylized tree of life appears, bearing flowers, leaves, and fruit. The composite tree, as well as the fragmentary abstract floral designs around it, can be understood as an Islamic interpretation of the composite tree motifs popular in pre-Islamic Sasanian art. This fragment may have originally been part of a tunic or other garment, and is stylistically related to similar textiles found in Egypt.

Artwork Details

Overview

Catalogue Entry

Provenance

References

Title: Roundel with Central Asian-style "Candelabra Tree"
Date: 7th–9th century
Geography: Attributed to Egypt or Syria
Medium: Silk; samite
Dimensions: Textile: H. 6 1/8 in. (15.5 cm)
W.7 5/16 in. (18.5 cm)
Mount: H. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm)
W. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
D. 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Woven
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
Object Number: 17.22.1
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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