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Cope

first half 17th century (velvet)
Not on view
Armenian merchants played an important role in facilitating trade in and outside Iran, so when the Safavid ruler Shah 'Abba' (r. 1587–1629) planned to revitalize Iran's economy, he resettled a community of Armenians from the city of Julfa to his new capital, Isfahan. From there, the Armenians helped Iran's famous silk reach markets around the world. This cope probably comes from an Armenian church in Isfahan, as suggested by the presence of Armenian bishop-saints and Armenian inscriptions on the orphrey attached to its long straight edge. The cope was pieced together from robes (the seams are still visible) of a type of costly, popular seventeenth-century Persian velvet.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cope
  • Date: first half 17th century (velvet)
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran
  • Medium: Silk, cotton, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet, brocaded, embroidered, with engraved metal fittings
  • Dimensions: Textile: Max. L. 44 1/2 in. (113 cm)
    Max. W. 103 in. (261.6 cm)
    D. 1/4 in. (0.6 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1914
  • Object Number: 14.67
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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Calligraphic Plaque, Steel; forged and pierced
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Velvet Panel with Flowering Plants, Silk, cotton, flat metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet, brocaded
Velvet Panel with Flowering Plants
first half 17th century
A Young Man Attending to a Falcon, Silk, metal wrapped thread, and continuous floats of flat metal thread; cut and voided velvet, bouclé
A Young Man Attending to a Falcon
early 17th century
Velvet with Pattern of Butterflies and Flowers, Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet
Velvet with Pattern of Butterflies and Flowers
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The 'Nigde' Carpet, Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); symmetrically knotted pile
The 'Nigde' Carpet
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