Velvet Panel with Carnations and Palmettes
CultureTurkish
Dateca. 1600
MediumSilk cut and voided velvet with silk pile and metal-wrapped thread brocade
DimensionsOverall: 19 × 40 1/2 inches (48.26 × 102.87 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. F. Downing
Object numberR57-9/26
On View
Not on viewCollections
Exhibition HistoryWeaving Splendor: Treasures of Asian Textiles, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 25, 2021–March 6, 2022, no cat.
Imperial silk weaving workshops in Bursa, in eastern Turkey, made this narrow small velvet panel to be a cushion cover for a bolster pillow. The central design features rows of alternating carnations, one of the standard forms of floral decoration associated with the Ottoman court in the 1500s. Velvet was perfect for interior furnishings such as cushions because the silk pile stood up to heavy wear. Look closely and you will see traces of metallic threads that once filled the voids between the red silk pile with gold and silver.
Mrs. John F. Downing (née Jessie Burnham, 1869-1968), Kansas City, MO, by 1957;
Her gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1957.
No published references known at this time.
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