DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62931#0088
SICILIAN PATTERNED FABRICS
cloth of gold, velvets and silk damasks, patterned with elephants,
lions, birds, and flowers, were also a part of the equipment of the court.
Considering the limitations imposed by Mohammed upon the
use of natural objects, it is singular that the Arabs should have so
largely encouraged the weaving of such decorative silken fabrics ;
no representation of any living thing was held to be permitted by
the Prophet, nor the use of silk in the production of fabrics. His
followers, however, avoided the literal interpretations by frequently
mixing a cotton or linen thread with the silk and making the bird
and animal forms somewhat formal or conventional in treatment.
Richly patterned fabrics of great beauty were produced in many
provinces under the Mohammedan rule, but it was in Sicily that
the art of pattern weaving reached its highest achievement.
Almost immediately after the conquest in A.D. 827 the Sicilian
looms in the Palace workshops at Palermo began to produce the
distinctive patterns of animals, birds, and foliage, interwoven with
inscriptions from the Koran, or the names of princes; for it was one
of the privileges of the Saracenic rulers to have their names or an
inscription interwoven with the rich silken fabrics intended for
personal adornment.
These Arabian inscriptions, though originally introduced for
their significance, were in later fabrics frequently used for their
ornamental value alone.
An early Oriental writer tells that the Arabian princes wore rich
robes woven with inscriptions in gold, and that the place set apart
for such fabrics was Tiraz (the skirt of a robe).
The Sicilian patterned fabrics are of three periods: the first
dates from the Arabian occupation of Sicily in 827—1140 A.D.,
during which period skilled weavers were imported from Byzantium,
Persia, and India. The patterns were composed chiefly of roundels
of the Byzantine type, or bands and stripes of various widths,
containing bird and animal forms, interspersed with geometrical
diapers, or arabesques within square or rectangular panels.
Fig. 25 is a remarkable fabric showing a mingling of Chinese
and early Sicilian design. It was undoubtedly woven by a Chinese
craftsman, possibly working in Persia after the Mongol conquest.
The inscription states that it was woven for Master Abd-el-Aziz, on
behalf of William the Second of Sicily (r. 1169-89). It is a portion
of a coloured silk dalmatic, interwoven with gold, and was presented
to the Cathedral of Regensburg by the Emperor Henry IV., who
died in 1197.
A fragment of a beautiful red silk and gold damask was found
in Henry’s grave, and is now in the British Museum. The design
48
cloth of gold, velvets and silk damasks, patterned with elephants,
lions, birds, and flowers, were also a part of the equipment of the court.
Considering the limitations imposed by Mohammed upon the
use of natural objects, it is singular that the Arabs should have so
largely encouraged the weaving of such decorative silken fabrics ;
no representation of any living thing was held to be permitted by
the Prophet, nor the use of silk in the production of fabrics. His
followers, however, avoided the literal interpretations by frequently
mixing a cotton or linen thread with the silk and making the bird
and animal forms somewhat formal or conventional in treatment.
Richly patterned fabrics of great beauty were produced in many
provinces under the Mohammedan rule, but it was in Sicily that
the art of pattern weaving reached its highest achievement.
Almost immediately after the conquest in A.D. 827 the Sicilian
looms in the Palace workshops at Palermo began to produce the
distinctive patterns of animals, birds, and foliage, interwoven with
inscriptions from the Koran, or the names of princes; for it was one
of the privileges of the Saracenic rulers to have their names or an
inscription interwoven with the rich silken fabrics intended for
personal adornment.
These Arabian inscriptions, though originally introduced for
their significance, were in later fabrics frequently used for their
ornamental value alone.
An early Oriental writer tells that the Arabian princes wore rich
robes woven with inscriptions in gold, and that the place set apart
for such fabrics was Tiraz (the skirt of a robe).
The Sicilian patterned fabrics are of three periods: the first
dates from the Arabian occupation of Sicily in 827—1140 A.D.,
during which period skilled weavers were imported from Byzantium,
Persia, and India. The patterns were composed chiefly of roundels
of the Byzantine type, or bands and stripes of various widths,
containing bird and animal forms, interspersed with geometrical
diapers, or arabesques within square or rectangular panels.
Fig. 25 is a remarkable fabric showing a mingling of Chinese
and early Sicilian design. It was undoubtedly woven by a Chinese
craftsman, possibly working in Persia after the Mongol conquest.
The inscription states that it was woven for Master Abd-el-Aziz, on
behalf of William the Second of Sicily (r. 1169-89). It is a portion
of a coloured silk dalmatic, interwoven with gold, and was presented
to the Cathedral of Regensburg by the Emperor Henry IV., who
died in 1197.
A fragment of a beautiful red silk and gold damask was found
in Henry’s grave, and is now in the British Museum. The design
48