8295.
Piece of Silk and Cotton Tissue; ground, deep red mixed with green, blue, white, and gold; the pattern consists of loosely branched stems with large flower-heads, and monsters alternately blue and gold, bearing in their hands a white flower. Italian, late 14th century. 27½ inches by 9½ inches.
The so-called sphinxes in this piece are those monster figures often found in art-work during the middle ages, and are formed of a female head and waist joined on to the body of a lioness passant cowed, that is, with its tail hanging down between its legs. In this specimen may be detected an early form of the artichoke pattern, which afterwards became such a favourite.