Deep red velvet with offset repeat pattern of gold disks. The foundation is plain weave formed by a red silk warp and tan silk weft; the supplementary warp pile is red silk. The velvet pile is voided in the areas where the coin dots appear, and supplementary gold wefts are floated in pairs to the surface in these areas, bound in twill with the secondary ivory warp.

This object is currently resting in our storage facility. There are 5 other images of this object. This object has no known copyright, and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
1902	We acquired this object.
2001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2013	This was an Object of the Day.
2014	We exhibited this object.
2017	You found it!

Textile (Italy), possibly 13th century

This is a textile. It is dated possibly 13th century and we acquired it in 1902. Its medium is silk, metallic and its technique is supplementary warp pile (velvet) in plain weave foundation, with continuous supplementary weft patterning. It is a part of the Textiles department.

This opulent velvet with a pattern of offset gold disks was most likely imported to Europe from a production center along the Silk Road like Tabriz, a city in Persia used as a capital by Mongol rulers. Chinggis Khan often spared artisans such as weavers during his conquest of Persia, relocating them closer to the Mongol homeland. When he reopened trade along the Silk Road in 1240, fine silks, often called Tartar silks, began pouring into Europe. They were used in garments and furniture, and were prized by aristocratic Mongols and Europeans alike because they proclaimed the affluence of the owner and acted as stores of wealth. A pattern similar to this one, with gold disks on a red ground, appears on the cope of St. Louis Toulouse in a 1317 painting by Simone Martini at the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte.

This object was featured in our Object of the Day series in a post titled Velvet with Gold Disks.

This object was donated by John Pierpont Morgan. It is credited Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.

Our curators have highlighted 12 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

Square panel of stretched, unbleached linen with four circles, each 11.5 inches in diameter, placed in the four quarters of the square. Each circle is produced by the progressive counter-clockwise placing of linen yarns across the diameter of the circle. A relief effect is created in the center of each circle as the yarns cross and build up one upon the other, casting a shadow.

Panel, Study for Ford Foundation wall panels, 1967
linen.
Gift of Sheila Hicks.
1969-25-1

Circular cup (a) tapering toward flat base; curved flat triangular handle on side, pierced with circle; white body, the lower portion enamelled with red-orange semi-circles and dots arranged in asymmetrical pattern. Circular saucer (b) with slightly upturned edge; cup recess molded off-center; surface enamelled with red-orange dots and overlapping semi-circles clustered around cup recess. Part of a set that includes a covered sugar bowl, milk jug, cup and saucer, and plate.

Cup And Saucer (Austria), ca. 1902
enameled porcelain.
Museum purchase from Charles E. Sampson Memorial Fund.
1986-83-4-a,b

Rows of gold dots, evenly spaced and printed four across. Printed in metallic gold on off-white ground.

Sidewall, Pieces of Eight, ca. 1955
machine printed on paper.
Gift of the Appleman Family in memory of Betty and Ira Appleman.
1997-4-1

Its dimensions are

H x W: 53 × 26 cm (20 7/8 × 10 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile (Italy), possibly 13th century; silk, metallic; H x W: 53 × 26 cm (20 7/8 × 10 1/4 in.); Gift of John Pierpont Morgan; 1902-1-385

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making Design.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2AVEr/
Accession Number 1902-1-385
Object ID 18130825