Textile with Palmettes 1200s-1300s Central Asia, Mongol period, 13th - 14th century Tabby with supplementary weft; silk and gold thread Overall: 85.5 x 35 cm (33 11/16 x 13 3/4 in.) John L. Severance Fund 1993.253 DESCRIPTION Designs of repeated ogives were popular in Central Asia and survive in a number of variations. Usually, the ogival frame encloses a floral motif, as in this example. Sometimes paired animals occur instead. Silks with this type of pattern were exported to Western Asia and to Europe, where they inspired textile designs woven locally. Mongol silks with exotic floral and animal patterns were acquired for use as clothing and furnishings by the clergy and nobility. They were also used by painters as models for hangings or garments. CITATIONS Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997. pp. 160-161, color reproduction, p. 161, detail reproduction p. 160 EXHIBITION HISTORY When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).