2-734-236 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Lions from a Tunic, c. 800's. The royal lions and jeweled border in this colourful roundel, originally from a tunic, conveyed power and wealth. The symmetrical design with lions and ducks flanking the central palmette (fan-shaped plant form) indicates that the pattern was copied from a costlier silk textile woven on a loom that automatically repeated the design in mirror-image symmetry.