Fragment (of a Shroud?) with Inscription (before 1982): Art, History and Details

Fragment (of a Shroud?) with Inscription (before 1982) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This fragment, which possibly was part of a shroud, has wide horizontal bands of birds and fish alternating with narrow double bands of inscription. The text reads in both orthograde and retrograde: "Oh Lord! Even though my sins may be very great, I know that Thy forgiveness is greater." Bands are alternately blue and tan with design in white. A portion of selvage is preserved at right and a starting edge at bottom.

Object facts

• Title: Fragment (of a Shroud?) with Inscription
• Date: before 1982
• Culture: Iran or Iraq, in the style of the Abbasid period (750–1258)
• Type: Textile
• Technique: Silk: lampas weave
• Dimensions: Overall: 42 x 74 cm (16 9/16 x 29 1/8 in.)
• Collection: T - Islamic
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1982.280

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

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.