Damask, silk and cotton; ground, deep bluish green; design, pairs of monsters, half griffin, half elephant, in gold, a conventional flower in light green, enclosing a pair of wings in gold, and pairs of birds amid foliation, with short sentences of imitated Arabic here and there. Sicilian, early 14th century. 14 inches by 11 inches.
This is a fine and noteworthy production of the Palermitan loom, and shows in its pattern much fancy and great freedom of drawing; for whether we look at those very singular griffin elephants, sitting in pairs—and gazing at one another, or the two birds of the hoopoe family, with a long feather on the head, or the two gold wings conjoined and erect, so heraldically tricked, with that well-devised flower ending in a honeysuckle scroll, an ornament sprinkled all about, we cannot but be pleased with the whole arrangement. The combination of elephant and griffin in ornamentation is almost, perhaps quite, unique. The pretended Arabic points to a locality where once Saracenic workmen laboured, and left behind them their traditions of excellency of handicraft. In Dr. Bock’s “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters,” 4 Lieferung, pl. ix. may be seen this curious stuff figured.
1289.
Part of a Maniple, silk damask; ground, fawn-coloured; design, an ovate foliation amid monster beasts and birds, all in light blue silk, excepting the heads of the birds; the feet and heads of the animals done in gold. Sicilian, late 13th century. 13¼ inches by 7 inches.
1289A.
Part of a Maniple, silk damask; ground, fawn-coloured; design, an ovate foliation amid small lions and large monster beasts and birds, in light blue silk, excepting the small lions all in gold, and the heads and claws of the others in the same metal. Sicilian, late 13th century. 21½ inches by 6½ inches.
The two articles were evidently parts of the same maniple; a liturgical appliance of such narrow dimensions that we cannot make out the entire composition of the very fine and admirably drawn design upon the stuff, out of which it was cut originally. From what is before us we perceive that there were a pair of small lions, face to face, all in gold, a pair of wyverns segreant in green, a pair of griffins passant, with heads of gold, and a pair of other large animals, antelopes, with their horned heads and cloven hoofs in the same metal; slight indications of the fleur-de-lis here and there occur.