8611.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, red; pattern, foliage in green, wild dogs in blue, gold, and white. South Italian, 14th century. 15 inches by 12-1/2 inches.
The wild dogs are segeant face to face, in pairs; one blue, the other
gold; one white, the other gold: and below are flowers blue, gold, and
white, alternating like the animals. The warp is cotton, the woof silk,
and altogether the stuff is coarse.
8612.
Fragments of Silk Damask; ground, black; pattern, a tower surrounded by water and a figure holding a hawk, and hawks perched, in pairs, on trees. Italian, 15th century. 9 inches by 5-1/2 inches; 9 inches by 4-1/2 inches.
Pity that this curious piece is so fragmental and decayed that its
singular design cannot, as in another specimen of the very same tissue, all
be made out. Whether it be man or woman standing on high outside
the tower with a bird at rest on the wrist is here hard to say. The castle
is well shown, with its moat, and its draw-bridges—for it has more than
one—all down. Like No. 8606, it shows its pattern by the difference of
material in the warp and woof. All over it has been thickly sprinkled
with thin gilt trefoils that were not sewed but glued on; many have
fallen off, and those remaining have turned black. See No. 7065.
8613.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, black; pattern, in gold thread, birds amid foliage. Italian, 14th century. 14 inches by 7-1/4 inches.
The bold and facile pattern of this piece is very conspicuous, with
its eagles stooping upon long-necked birds perched on waving boughs;
to much beauty in design it adds, moreover, richness in material.
