faded as to look a purplish black. Sicilian, early 14th century. 7-1/2 inches by 4-1/2 inches; 4-1/2 inches by 4-1/2 inches.
This is a specimen interesting for several reasons. When new and
fresh, this stuff must have been very pleasing; the elaborate design of
its pattern, done in a cheerful spring-like tone of green upon a ground
of a much lighter shade of the same colour, makes it welcome to the
eye. The giraffes, tripping and addorsed, with their long necks and
parded skins, have something like a housing on their backs. From such
a quadruped being figured on this stuff, he who drew the design must
have lived in Africa, or have heard of the animal from the Moors; he
must have been a Christian, too, for green being Mohammed's own
colour, and even still limited, in its use, to his descendants, no Saracenic
loom would have figured this stuff with a forbidden form of an animal.
Yet, withal, there may be seen upon it strong traces of Saracenic feeling
in its pattern. That singular ornament, made up of long zero-like forms
placed four together in three rows, which we find upon other examples
in this curious collection (No. 8596, &c), seems distinctive of some particular
locality; so that we may presume this fine textile to have been
wrought at the royal manufactory of Palermo, where the giraffe might
have been well known, where Saracenic art-traditions a long time
lingered; and people cared nothing for the prohibition of figuring any
created form, or of wearing green in their garments, or hanging their
walls with silks dyed green; in some specimens the zero-like ornamentation
takes the shape of our letter U; moreover the large feathers in
the bird's long tail are sometimes so figured.
8592.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, red; pattern, the castle of Castile and fleur-de-lis, both in yellow. Spanish, 13th century. 10 inches by 6-1/4 inches.
Though of poor and somewhat flimsy silk, this stuff is not without
some merit, as it shows how exact were the workmen of those days to
be guided by rule in the choice of colour; for instance, the tinctures
here are correct, so far that metal or is put upon colour gules. It was
woven in stripes marked by narrow blue lines.
