Harvard Art Museums > 1999.325: Red Coat with Pattern of Birds, Flowers and Lions Textile Arts Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Red Coat with Pattern of Birds, Flowers and Lions , 1999.325,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/192107. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1999.325 Title Red Coat with Pattern of Birds, Flowers and Lions Classification Textile Arts Work Type costume Date late 18th-early 19th century Culture Persian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/192107 Physical Descriptions Medium silk and metal thread on red silk satin ground, patterned with floating wefts (main textile) Dimensions 105 x 163.5 cm (41 5/16 x 64 3/8 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Estate of Margaret F. Schroeder Accession Year 1999 Object Number 1999.325 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The careful composition of this coat belies that it is constructed from a number of different fabrics. The main textile is a red silk satin ground weave featuring small lions and birds nestled amidst pomegranates and flowers. The pattern has been rendered on such a small scale that one barely notices that the fabrics have been sewn together in such a way that the lions and birds appear upside-down to the viewer. The primary border features another complex weave, patterned with other colorful flowers and white deer. Smaller bands composed of black and yellow plain weaves and printed cotton known as qalamkari round out this coat. The interior has also been lined with a stunning silk ikat (the resist dyeing of the threads creates a pattern), adding another layer of complexity to this coat. Paintings from the late Safavid to Qajar periods show women in courtly settings wearing such delicate, outer-garments. This coat could have been worn in such a context and would certainly have been layered over other richly patterned dress textiles. Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
