86O9.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, fawn-colour; pattern, wreaths of white flowers, green boughs bearing white flowers, forming part of a design in which an ellipsis in green constitutes a leading portion; and a broad band figured with scroll-work and an Arabic sentence, all in gold. Sicilian, 13th century. 1 foot 5-1/2 inches by 5-3/4 inches.
Probably in the sample before us we behold a work from the royal
looms or "tiraz"—silk-house—of Palermo, when Sicily was under the
sway of France, in the person of a prince belonging to the house of
Anjou. In the first place, we have the fawn—a tone of the murrey
colour of our old English writers—and the light joyous green; in the
second place, the ellipsis was there, though our specimen is too small to
show it all. Those narrow borders that edge the large golden lettered
band present us with a row of golden half-moons and blue fleurs-de-lis
on one side; on the other, a row of golden half-moons and blue cross-crosslets:
on the band itself we find, alternating with foliage, an oblong
square, within which is written a short sentence in Arabic—a kindly
word, a wish of health and happiness to the wearer—such as was, and
still is, the custom among the Arabs. Sure is it that this textile, if
wrought by Saracenic hands, was done under a Christian prince, and
that prince a Frenchman.
861O.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, fawn-colour; pattern, birds and dogs in green. Sicilian, 14th century. 1 foot 4-1/2 inches by 10-1/4 inches.
Like so many other specimens of the Palermitan loom, both in
colours and design, this piece is rather poor in its silk, which is harsh
and somewhat thin. The birds are a swan ruffling up its feathers at the
presence of an eagle perched just overhead, amid branches and foliage in
which the trefoil abounds.
