Fragment (before 1952): Art, History and Details

Fragment (before 1952) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Large roundels with pearl borders enclose eight palmette trees radiating from a central abstract floral motif. The large roundels are linked to each other along their vertical and horizontal axes by small roundels, also having pearl borders, that enclose a square and four crescents. Between these links, the large roundels are interrupted by small roundels enclosing single recumbent ibexes. The pattern, which is completely reversible, appears in tan on a dark blue background, or vice versa.

Object facts

• Title: Fragment
• Date: before 1952
• Culture: Iraq or Iran, in the style of the Buyid period (945–1055)
• Type: Textile
• Technique: Silk: compound tabby
• Dimensions: Overall: 43.8 x 36.8 cm (17 1/4 x 14 1/2 in.)
• Collection: T - Islamic
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1952.83

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Lemberg, Mechthild. 1973. “The Buyid Silks of the Abegg Foundation, Berne.” Bulletin du CIETA. Centre international d'étude des textiles anciens. No. 37 1973 – I. p. 11-54

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.