Panel from a Mantle or Apron

early 17th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 463

A distinctive group of Bengal embroideries made between the mid-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth century are embroidered with the yellowish white silk known as tasar, one of several types of the wild (i.e., uncultivated) silk that was abundant in eastern India. They incorporate highly imaginative imagery including sea creatures, mermaids, scenes from the Bible, European figures, animals, and hunters drawn from a mixture of European engravings and local traditions. Several examples include Portuguese coats of arms and must have been made for the Portuguese traders who had settled on the western coast of India, but these embroideries were also prized in England.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Panel from a Mantle or Apron
Date: early 17th century
Geography: Attributed to India, Bengal, Satgaon-Hugly
Medium: Cotton, tasar silk; plain weave, embroidered
Dimensions: Textile a: H. 46 3/4 in. (118.7 cm)
W. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
Textile b: H. 45 in. (114.3 cm)
W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
Textile c-e: H. 46 in. (116.8 cm)
W. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm)

Mount (Textile b:) H. 48 ½ in (123.2 cm)
W. 18 in. (45.7 cm)
D. 2 ¼ in. (5.7 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1908
Object Number: 08.108.4a–e
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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