Central Asia / 1225–75
Cloth of gold with winged lions and griffins
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Cloth of gold with winged lions and griffins as textile (Central Asia · 1225–75).
The tail of each paired griffin passes between its hind legs, loops around a rosette, and terminates in a feline head.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this textile as Silk and gold thread: lampas.
The museum's collection notes: The Mongols created exceptionally sumptuous cloths of gold to symbolize their imperial authority and legitimacy, this being the most resplendent example known. Opulent expanses of gold thread enrich the roundels, lions, and griffins in striking contrast with the intricate brown silk foliate ground. The pattern integrates motifs from Iran—paired lions in roundels and paired griffins—and from China, cloud ornaments on the lions’ wings. They suggest it was woven in an imperial workshop in Central Asia where Iranian and Chinese craftsmen worked together with local artisans. The gold is on a paper substrate associated with Asia, whereas animal ski
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The Cleveland Museum of ArtCloth of gold with winged lions and griffinsOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.