Square with Stylized Trees, Birds, and Animals

17th–18th century

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

The larger details of this silk were block printed, while the finer details and color gradations were later added by hand. Patterns such as cypress trees and pairs of nightingales evoke Persian literary motifs, which allegorize nightingales as lovers and cypresses as young people with fine statures. These patterns are found in a variety of media, from textiles and ceramics to manuscript paintings.

Medium: Silk, twill weave, block printed and painted (kalamkari)
Dimensions: 42 × 42 in. (106.7 × 106.7 cm)
Credit Line: Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore
Accession Number: 1937.5196
Geography: Iran
Culture: Iranian/Persian, Islamic
Period: Safavid dynasty (1501–1722) or Zand dynasty (1751–94)
Classification: Textiles
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Arthur Upham Pope (1881–1969) and Phyllis Ackerman (1893–1977) Collection, 1936; Mrs. William H. Moore (1858–1955) New York; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Bibliography

Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman, Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, 6 vols. (London: Oxford University Press, 1938), 2156, vol. 3, pl. 1095

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Additional information

Subject

birds (animals)

Technical metadata and APIs

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