Part of a corpus of identical fragments, this Andalusian textile belonged to the mantle that was interred with Don Felipe Infante (d. 1274), son of Ferdinand II and brother of Alfonso X, thirteenth-century kings of Castile. The composition consists of registers containing repeating rosettes with geometric interlace against a gold background. Opulent textiles, probably manufactured in a Muslim production center, were regularly used for garments or furnishings and placed in Christian royal burials, reflecting the esteem with which Andalusian fabrics were regarded. See also 46.156.8 and L.2011.46.21, other fragments from this textile.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Textile Fragment
Date:13th century
Geography:From Spain, Palencia
Medium:Silk, gold wrapped silk, and undyed linen; compound weave
Dimensions:Textile: L. 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm) W. 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm) Mount: H. 22 1/8 in. (56.2 cm) W. 16 in. (40.6 cm) D. 1/4 in. (0.6 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Woven
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1927
Object Number:27.58.3
Textile Fragments, Part of the Tunic of Don Felipe (d. A.D. 1274)
The Cairo Geniza documents (see discussion of no. 32.129.2 in this volume) indicate that medieval Spain was the largest exporter of silk to the Mediterranean countries. Arabic inscribed textiles were also produced in Spain from the tenth to the fifteenth century, but the reconquest in 1492 changed the focus of the textile industry.
Spanish silks have been discovered in royal Christian tombs dating from the thirteenth century. The Metropolitan textile fragments belong to a group found in Palencia in the tomb of Don Felipe, who died in A.D. 1274. The European Christian ecclesiastical appropriation of Arabic inscribed textiles is well documented visually and textually, and includes Spanish silks as well as Fatimid Egyptian exports to Norman Sicily. Arabic inscribed textiles carried twin auras of wealth and sanctity for the Europeans--just as the possession of Oriental carpets would in the upcoming centuries.
The epigraphical style of this inscription, with its sprouting trilobed palmettes, seems to be derived and adapted from later Fatimid foliated kufic. The repetition of the word "happiness" forms a stylized decorative pattern that is mirrored and reversed as it is repeated. The inscription is an artful design juxtaposed with a geometric latticework pattern filled with rosettes.
[Walker and Froom 1992]
Inscription: Arabic inscription: Happiness (mirrored, reversed, and repeated)
Tomb of Don Felipe Infante (d. 1274), Villalcazar de Sirgo, Spain; [ Adolph Loewi, Venice, until 1927; sold to MMA]
New York. The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops," December 15, 1992–March 14, 1993, no. 27.
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain, 1000–1200: Art at the Frontiers of Faith," August 30, 2021–January 30, 2022.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350," October 13, 2024–January 26, 2025.
London. National Gallery. "Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350," March 8–June 22, 2025.
Walker, Daniel S., and Aimee Froom. "Exhibition Notebook." In Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from Islamic Workshops.. New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. no. 27, pp. 38–39.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of Islamic art is one of the most comprehensive in the world and ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty-first century. Its more than 15,000 objects reflect the great diversity and range of the cultural traditions from Spain to Indonesia.
