Tabby-woven textile, silk, decorated with pattern wefts
The provenance of this textile is uncertain, but despite the Arabic inscription in Kufi – al-mulk l-illah (“royal power belongs to God”) – the type has most often been ascribed to Iran.
Motifs with eagles, falcons, lions, and other predators – hunting, confronted, or alone – are frequently associated with a princely iconography, or at least with social strata that modeled themselves on the ruling class. The becomingly modest inscription on this textile emphasizes a princely context.
A pattern weft is an extra weft that runs from selvage to selvage and forms the pattern.
Motifs with eagles, falcons, lions, and other predators – hunting, confronted, or alone – are frequently associated with a princely iconography, or at least with social strata that modeled themselves on the ruling class. The becomingly modest inscription on this textile emphasizes a princely context.
A pattern weft is an extra weft that runs from selvage to selvage and forms the pattern.