Textile Fabrics / A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Church-vestments, Dresses, Silk Stuffs, Needlework and Tapestries, forming that Section of the Museum

by Daniel Rock

8235.

Piece of Yellow Silk, with pattern of circles enclosing griffins, the interspaces filled in with hawks. Byzantine, 11th century. 12 inches by 10½ inches.

This well woven and thickly bodied stuff shows its Byzantine origin in that style of ornamentation seen in the circles so characteristic of a Greek hand, as may be found in the Byzantine MSS. of the period. What makes this specimen somewhat remarkable, is the rare occurrence of finding the birds and animals figured in lines of silver thread. Dr. Bock tells us that the chasuble of Bishop Bernward, who died in the 11th century, is decorated with a similar design.