A RARE SELJUK WOVEN METAL THREAD BROCADE PANEL DEPICTING SPHINXES, PERSIA, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

Rectangular, woven with two partial roundels containing sphinxes, the borders with zig-zag design interspersed by flower heads, the interstices with vegetal motifs, mounted.
104 by 24 cm.

CATALOGUE NOTE
The fall of the Sassanian dynasty and the reorganisation of the country under Islam did not interrupt the textile industries of a Persia, and did not bring any sudden or dramatic change in the prevailing styles. The Sasanian heritage of the present lot is clearly seen in the large-scale figural roundels. The depiction of the sphinx, a popular motif in Seljuk iconography, can be compared to that found on pottery and metalwork of the period. For a silk brocade depicting sphinxes, attributed by Phyllis Ackerman to East Persia, 10th a Century, see Arthur Upham Pope, A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric to the Present, Vol. VI, London and New York, 1939, p. 982.