Dumbarton Oaks - Fragment of a Hanging or Cover with Bird

Fragment of a Hanging or Cover with Bird

Islamic
9th century - 10th century
14.8 cm x 16.8 cm (5 13/16 in. x 6 5/8 in.)
tapestry weave in polychrome wool and undyed linen on plain-weave ground in undyed linen
BZ.1973.3

Not on view

Permalink: http://museum.doaks.org/objects-1/info/37698

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Description

This textile fragment was woven in tapestry weave in wool and linen on a paired linen warp. Color junctures were achieved with slits and the non-horizontal wool and linen wefts aid in the weaving of the bird’s contours. Details were defined by carrying a single weft around two paired warps, such as the eye in mustard-green wool and the thighs at the center in undyed linen. The composition was set against a plain-weave ground in undyed linen. Small remnants of the ground are still preserved around its perimeter.

- Kathrin Colburn, July 2019

Bibliography

D. Thompson, Unpublished Ms. of the Catalogue of Textiles in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (1976), Cat., no. 161.

Acquisition History

Purchased from Tano Collection, London, England (inv. #15U), 1973.

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, D.C.

Object Last Modified: 3/8/2023