Fragment
Unknown Artist
early 18th century
Medium
Silk, metal thread
Dimensions
22 3/4 × 7 3/8 in. (57.8 × 18.7 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Culture
Italian, Venice
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in honor of Olga Raggio, 2002
Accession Number
2002.494.254
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite silk fragment, woven in early 18th-century Venice, Italy, captures the city's renowned mastery of luxurious textiles. Measuring 22 3/4 × 7 3/8 inches, it features intricate motifs of flowers and leaves rendered in shimmering silk and metal threads. As a woven textile from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, it exemplifies the opulence of Venetian craftsmanship during a golden age of trade and artistry. Venice was Europe's premier hub for silk production, where guilds of skilled weavers created sumptuous fabrics for nobility, clergy, and expo...