Fragment of a Wall Hanging with Floral Decoration
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Vegetal motifs drawing upon Byzantine and Sasanian forms developed in the arts of the Umayyad and early Abbasid period in the territories, once the southern provinces of the Byzantine Empire. Based on these traditions, the abstract forms and styles of ornament that subsequently developed at the Abbasid capital at Samarra would have a profound impact on the art and architecture of the Islamic world.
The flowers, depicted in strict frontality, evoke the Abbasid style of decoration that influenced designs during the ninth-century Tulunid and early Fatimid periods in Egypt. Below the band in red are traces of Kufic script.
The flowers, depicted in strict frontality, evoke the Abbasid style of decoration that influenced designs during the ninth-century Tulunid and early Fatimid periods in Egypt. Below the band in red are traces of Kufic script.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fragment of a Wall Hanging with Floral Decoration
- Date: 9th-10th century
- Geography: Made in Probably Egypt
- Medium: Tapestry weave in polychrome wool and undyed cotton
- Dimensions: 13 3/16 x 25 in. (33.5 x 63.5 cm)
- Classification: Textiles
- Credit Line: Benaki Museum, Athens (15657)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters