The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Floral Textile Fragment

Art Object

Collecting Turkmen Jewelry: The Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection

In conjunction with the exhibition Turkmen Jewelry from the Collection of Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf (on view October 9, 2012, through February 24, 2013), Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf discuss their collecting practices and connection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the first few pieces that grew into a large collection of traditional Turkmen jewelry, the couple's appreciation for the jewelry has followed them for decades and allowed them to develop unique insights into the practice of collecting.

The exhibition is made possible by the Hagop Kevorkian Fund.

Conserving the Emperor's Carpet
(00:08:32) 2894 views

True Colors: The Damascus Room
(00:02:46) 333 views

Islamic Textiles and Carpets from the Met's Collection
(00:23:23) 51 views

The Arts of the Book
(00:29:25) 41 views

Conserving Islamic Art: Panel Discussion
(00:09:20) 22 views

Revealing the Original
(00:25:21) 36 views

Floral Textile Fragment

Object Name:: Fragment
Reign:: Shah `Abbas I (1587–1629)
Date:: early 17th century
Geography:: Iran
Medium:: Silk, metal wrapped thread; lampas?
Dimensions:: H. 57 1/2 in. (146.1 cm) W. 22 3/4 in. (60.3 cm)
Classification:: Textiles
Credit Line:: Fletcher Fund, 1946
Accession Number:: 46.156.19

This artwork is not on display

Description

This silk textile is decorated with a repeated pattern of floral bouquets tied with pink ribbons on a pink-lavender ground. Safavid textiles produced during the seventeenth century were popular commodities in both international and local markets, and often depicted flower motifs like those seen here. Weavers favored luxurious materials like silk and metal-wrapped thread because of their rich sheen and the sumptuousness the opulent materials lent to the finished textile. The apricot orange and light purple suggest a preference for a soft color palette, and the skillfully rendered veins in the irises indicate an interest in naturalism.
Provenance

[ Giorgio Sangiorgi, Rome, until 1946; to Loewi]; [ Adolph Loewi, Venice and Los Angeles, 1946; sold to MMA]
See also
What
Metal (59,587)

Silk (34,059)

Textiles (32,918)

Fragments (15,198)

Lampas (102)
Where
Asia (68,257)

Iran (7,074)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,646)
In the Museum
Islamic Art (12,531)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Iran, 1600–1800 A.D.