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Silk Velvet Designed by 'Ghiyath'

Ghiyath Iranian
second half 16th century
Not on view
The beige satin background of this silk velvet panel was originally covered in shining metal threads, the remnants of which are still visible in some places. Luxurious textiles like this one were described by Europeans who traveled to the Safavid court. This piece bears the inscription "work of Ghiyath," referring to a designer who was attached to the Safavid court and served as a master weaver at the court of Shah 'Abbas I at Isfahan.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Silk Velvet Designed by 'Ghiyath'
  • Maker: Ghiyath (Iranian, Yazd, born ca. 1530)
  • Date: second half 16th century
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran
  • Medium: Silk, cut and voided velvet with continuous floats of flat metal thread
  • Dimensions: Textile: L. 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm)
    W. 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm)
    Mount: L. 30 in. (76.2 cm)
    W. 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952
  • Object Number: 52.20.13
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

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Textile Fragment, Silk; cut and voided velvet with continuous floats of flat metal thread
Textile Fragment
ca. 1540
Textile Fragment, Silk; cut and voided velvet with continuous floats of flat metal thread
Textile Fragment
ca. 1540
The Emperor's Carpet, Silk (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
The Emperor's Carpet
second half 16th century
Kitab suwar al-kawakib al-thabita (Book of the Images of the Fixed Stars) of al-Sufi, `Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi Iranian, Ink and gold on paper; leather binding
Kitab suwar al-kawakib al-thabita (Book of the Images of the Fixed Stars) of al-Sufi
`Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi
late 15th century
Velvet with Figural Imagery, Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet
Velvet with Figural Imagery
mid-16th century

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