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This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Textile (possibly a cushion cover)

Location:

Los Angeles, United States of America

Holding Museum:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

About Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles

Date of Object:

Hegira mid-10th century / AD mid-16th century

Museum Inventory Number:

M.85.237.8

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Silk and metal foil-wrapped silk embroidered on compound satin ground

Dimensions:

86.7 x 83.8cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Turkey

Description:

Dating to the mid-10th/mid-16th century, this richly embellished textile gives a vivid sense of the multihued opulence of the court of the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman (Hegira 926–972 / AD 1520–65). Possibly a cushion cover for a throne or a sofa, the crimson satin fabric is embroidered with silk, gold and silver thread. The bold blossoms and spiky leaves that typify the Ottoman court style are arranged, along with a quartet of lively roosters, around a complex eight-lobed medallion. The quality of the design, the fine embroidery and the lavish use of silver and gold metallic thread demonstrate the unrivalled level of excellence of Ottoman imperial textiles.

How date and origin were established:

The materials, technique and decoration are consonant with other textiles produced for the Ottoman court, particularly during the latter part of Sultan Süleyman’s reign.

How Object was obtained:

Yanni Petsopoulos (1949 - ), until 1981 (sale, private sale, London, April 11, 1981, sold to); Edwin Binney, 3rd (1866-1934), Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd, Portland, ME, until 1985 (gifted to); LACMA, The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

How provenance was established:

The radiating star motif at center relates to Ottoman manuscript illumination while the flowers and serrated leaf designs are found among a variety of Ottoman decorative arts including textiles.

Selected bibliography:

Atil, Esin, The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, Washington: National Gallery of Art, New York; H. Abrams, 1987.
Komaroff, Linda, Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Rev. ed., Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005: 48, fig. 45.
Pal, Pratapaditya, Lentz, Thomas W., Canby, Sheila R., Binney, Edwin, 3rd, Denny, Walter B. and Markel, Stephen “Arts from Islamic Cultures: Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” Arts of Asia, 17 : 6 (1987): 111.
Pesopoulos, Yanni (ed), Tulips, Arabesques & Turbans: Decorative Arts from the Ottoman Empire, New York: Abbeville Press, 1982: cat. 150.

Citation of this web page:

LACMA Staff "Textile (possibly a cushion cover)" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus21;3;en

Prepared by: LACMA Staff

MWNF Working Number: US1 03

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