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

Name of Object:

Floor Spread (sofra) with Design of Tulips and Pomegranates

Location:

Saint Louis, United States of America

Holding Museum:

Saint Louis Art Museum

About Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis

Date of Object:

Hegira 11th century to early 12th century / AD 17th century

Museum Inventory Number:

175:1952

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Linen with silk embroidery

Dimensions:

Diameter: 106.7cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman period, 1281–1924

Provenance:

Istanbul, Turkey, Asia

Description:

A circular floor spread (sofra) with design of tulips and pomegranates. Around the outer edge is a narrow border of floral motifs. Within this comes a wide ring containing large tulips and artichoke or pomegranate motifs which have tulips within them set alternately. In the center is a double circle containing floral motifs like those in the border. The textile is mounted on a red velvet background. The design features red, blue, green, white, and yellow embroidered elements on a natural plain cloth background. There are slight repairs and many stains. The textile is pieced down the middle.

How date and origin were established:

Scholarly review and/or comparison to similar objects from the period.

How Object was obtained:

Gift of Mrs. Frank H. Cook, 1952

How provenance was established:

This circular shaped sofra is filled with tulip motifs characteristic of Ottoman embroidery. Tulips were originally a wild flower growing in Central Asia, and by the late seventeenth century Ottoman artists had perfected representations of the tulip form.

Selected bibliography:

Denny, Walter and Krody, Sumru Belger, The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art, Washington D.C.: The Textile Museum, 2012.

Citation of this web page:

 "Floor Spread (sofra) with Design of Tulips and Pomegranates" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;us;Mus24;13;en

MWNF Working Number: US4 13