c. 1700
Embroidered upholstery fragment depicting the Massacre of the Innocents. Finely worked in tent stitch. Linen canvas (z spun, single ply, even weave) on wool (two-ply woolen) and silk (multi-ply).
42.55 x 60.96 cm (16 3/4 x 24 in.)
Nettie G. Naumburg, New York, Bequest to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1930. This upholstery was removed from a deaccessioned chair from the Naumburg bequest in 1991.
Wool
19th centuryPersianSilk damask
17th centuryItalianWarps: 3 Z spun S plied undyed white wool, some slightly darker; alternate warps slightly depressed. Weft: 1 ply Z spun undyed buff, or dyed red (Qashqai); 2 or 3 yarns per shoot. Pile: 2 S plied Z spun wool. Pile colors: dark indigo blue, blue green, medium blue, yellow, yellow green, white, dark brown/black. Knots: asymmetrical, open to the left. Knots per vertical decimeter: 49. Knots per horizontal decimeter: 48. Both selvedges: rewrapped. Top end: approz 1 cm. blue and white double cloth float weaved followed by double line countered soumak in red and white. Bottom end: stripped.
19th centuryPersianWarps: 2 Z spun S plied undyed ivory wool on 2 distinct levels. Wefts: 1 Z spun wool in red, white and ornage; 2 yarns per shoot; pronounced lazy lines. Pile: 2 Z spun S plied woo. Pile colors: dark red (abrashed), pale orange, pale red (shifting from orange-ish to purplish), yellow-beige, very pale green, light grey, blue grey, dark blue, white undyed wool, dark black-brown, and white cotton which has turned a sort of ecru color. Knots: symmetrical. Woven upside down. 70 knots per vertical decimeter. 45 knots per horizontal decimeter. Both selvedges: replaced. Top end: 1 cm. green and red tapestry weave, stripped. Bottom end: 1 1/2 cm. green tapestry weave in 1/2 cm green and red stripes, stripped. Woven upside down.
19th centuryTurkishStitched leather, brass, tissue paper, string, and printed instructions
21st centuryGermanSilk
17th centuryJapanese