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Textile Fragment with Unicorn, Deer, Centaur and Lion

ca. 1500
Not on view
Like the cloth from Perugia seen here, this textile features a combination of real and imaginary creatures. The inscription, only partially legible and apparently mixing Latin and Italian, invokes the name of Christ and the Church, indicating the cloth’s original use in a religious context.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Textile Fragment with Unicorn, Deer, Centaur and Lion
  • Date: ca. 1500
  • Geography: Made in Scandinavia (possibly Sweden)
  • Culture: Scandinavian
  • Medium: Wool intarsia and applique with gilded leather and linen embroidery
  • Dimensions: 52 3/4 × 52 3/8 in. (134 × 133 cm)
    Wall Mount: 57 3/4 × 57 1/8 × 4 1/8 in., 63 lb. (146.7 × 145.1 × 10.5 cm, 28.6 kg)
  • Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 2011
  • Object Number: 2011.430
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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Section of Orphrey, Silk, gilt silver on membrane, paint, linen. Weft-faced compound twill with embroidery, German
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Peasant costume fragment, Wool on linen, Albanian or Montenegrin
Peasant costume fragment
Albanian or Montenegrin
18th–19th century
Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri), Background: twill weave (warp: Turcana wool, Z spun, 24 per cm; weft: metal-wrapped thread; wool, Z spun, 14 per cm; cotton, 2Z spun, S plied); decorative panel: tapestry weave (warp: cotton, 2Z spun, S pliz, 16 per cm; weft: linen, Z spun, 38 per cm; silk, 2Z spun, S plied; metal-wrapped thread, 64 per cm); embroidery: metal-wrapped thread, metal coil, Romanian, Banat area
Fragment from an apron (opreg cu ciucuri)
Romanian, Banat area
late 19th century

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