Embroidered Armenian liturgical curtain
Unknown Artist
1763
Medium
twill weave: wool; embroidery, chain stitch: silk, gilt- and silver-metal thread
Dimensions
183 × 119.4 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
2014.13
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This rare Ottoman embroidery features a floral bouquet that enriches the field under an elegant arch of gilt-metal thread. Flanked by vines of tulips and irises on a silver-metal-thread ground, vases of tulips and jonquils within cartouches adorn the main border and the well-turned corners, a sign of high quality. Dated 1763, the textile documents a mid-18th-century style and technique uncommon in Ottoman embroideries. The Armenian community commissioned this pattern for a liturgical curtain. Be...