Textile with Arabesque and Palmette Design
Unknown Artist
14th century
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; block-printed, mordant dyed
Dimensions
L. 9 3/8 in. (23.9 cm) W. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Painted and/or Printed
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, V. Everit Macy Gift, 1930
Accession Number
30.112.28
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 14th-century textile fragment, featuring intricate arabesque and palmette designs offers a window into the refined artistry of Islamic decorative traditions. Crafted from cotton weave, it measures just 9⅜ by 12⅝ inches, suggesting it may have adorned a small garment, pouch, or furnishing. The motifs—swirling vines, floral palmettes, and rhythmic arabesques—exemplify the non-figural patterns central to Islamic art, evoking paradise gardens and infinite harmony while adhering to aniconic principles that avoided human or animal imagery. The block-printing technique, combined with ...