Spindle Whorl

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453

Spindle whorls aided in the making of thread by maintaining the momentum of the spindle. This semi-spherical spindle whorl made from pink-tinted bone was excavated at Nishapur. It is incised with two bands of dot-in-circles. Hundreds of spindle whorls were excavated at Nishapur, providing further evidence that the city possessed a thriving textile industry. Their incised designs exhibit a wide variety of motifs ranging from geometric forms to zoomorphic figures.

Spindle Whorl, Bone; tinted and incised

Due to rights restrictions, 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.