Detail of a Textile Fragment with Bird, Dragon, and Palmette Motifs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 2010

Title: Textile Fragment with Bird, Dragon, and Palmette Motifs

Date: 13th century

Culture: Italian

Medium: Silk and metallic threads

Dimensions: Overall: 15 1/4 x 9 3/8 in. (38.7 x 23.8 cm) Framed: 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (49.5 x 34.3 x 3.8 cm)

Classification: Textiles-Woven

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1912

Accession Number: 12.166.4

On View

Description:

The exceptional condition and quality of this silk, enriched with gold and highlights in red, are characteristic of the Sicilian royal workshops.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/mediev...

and

Textiles

The silk workshops in Palermo were among the finest in the Mediterranean. Created for royalty, the church, and the aristocracy, luxurious fabrics and embroideries from these workshops were inspired by Eastern and Islamic traditions as well as by those from Byzantium. Both the technique and decoration of this textile exemplify the fertile interchange between several diverse cultural traditions.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art plaque.