8649.
Piece of Woollen Carpet; ground, red; pattern, a green quatrefoil bearing three white animals. Spanish, late 14th century. 1 foot 11 inches by 1 foot 1 inch.
A most unmistakeable piece of mediæval carpeting; the lively tone of its red is yet bright. The quatrefoils are quite of the period, and look like four-petaled roses barbed, that is, with the angular projection between the petals. So unlion-like are the animals, that we may not take them as the blazon of the Kingdom of Leon.
8650.
Piece of Silk Damask; ground, crimson; pattern, the so-called artichoke in yellow and green, lined white, and foliage of green lined white. Spanish, 15th century. 1 foot 9 inches by 1 foot 4½ inches.
A good example of this showy pattern, once so much in favour, and of which the materials are very good and substantial; much of the yellow portions of the design was in gold thread, the metal of which has, however, almost all gone. From the quantity of glue still sticking to the hind part of this silk, its last destination would seem to have been the covering of some state room.
8651.
