Page:Textile fabrics; a descriptive catalogue of the collection of church-vestments, dresses, silk stuffs, needle-work and tapestries, forming that section of the Museum (IA textilefabricsde00soutrich).pdf/346



sections spring forth bunches of wheat-ears, separating two collared cheetahs with heads reversed; and from other featherings, a large oval well-filled floriation, upon the branches of which are perched two crested birds, may be hoopoes, at which the cheetahs seem to be gazing. Over the wheat-ears, drops are falling from a pencil of sunbeams above them; below are two flowers in silk, once crimson.

7087.

Silk Damask; ground, blue; pattern, birds, animals, and flowers, in gold, and different coloured silks. Oriental, late 13th century. 17-1/2 inches by 7-1/2 inches.

So fragmentary is this specimen, that it is rather hard to find out the whole of the design, which was seemingly composed of white cheetahs collared red, in pairs; above which sit two little dogs, in gold, looking at one another; and just over them a pair of white eagles, small too, on the wing, and holding a white flower between them. Running across the pattern was a band, in gold, charged with circles enclosing a sitting dog, a rosette, a circle having an imitated Arabic sentence over it.

7088.

Part of a Stole, or of a Maniple; silk brocade; ground, light crimson; pattern, floriations in green, with lions rampant in gold. Sicilian, late 14th century. 20-1/2 inches by 3 inches.

The parti-coloured fringe to this liturgical appliance is of poor linen thread not corresponding to the richness of the stuff.

7089.

Silk and Gold Damask; ground, gold; pattern, branches of foliation, in yellow silk. Oriental, 15th century. 17-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches.

Though rather rich in material, the design is so obscure as hardly to be observable.