Textile

Art Historical Context

This exquisite 13th-century silk, woven in a warp-faced plain weave, hails from the Islamic world and showcases the era's mastery of luxurious fabrics. Measuring about 17 by 12 inches, it features vibrant motifs of birds, griffins and foxes—mythical and real creatures that symbolize power, cunning, and the natural world's wonders. Griffins, with their lion-eagle hybrid forms, were in Islamic art, evoking guardianship and exoticism drawn from Persian and Central Asian traditions. The warp-faced plain technique, where tightly packed silk warp yarns dominate for a smooth, glossy surface, was ide...