Fragment of Striped Silk

CC0 Public Domain Designation

13th-15th century

Egypt

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, dealers in Egyptian cities including Alexandria and Cairo would often cut up ancient and antique textiles into many pieces in order sell them to multiple buyers, maximizing their profits. Fragments helped private collectors and museums at the time to build large collections that included as many different textiles as possible. This fragment was cut from the larger cloth in the collection of the National Museums in Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst.

Status: On View, Gallery 58
Department: Textiles

Title: Fragment of Striped Silk
Place: Egypt (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1201–1499
Medium: Linen and silk; plain weave, bands of weft-faced plain weave with paired warps, bands of twill weave; stripes of warp-faced plain weave and supplementary warp and weft float weaves
Dimensions: 24.2 × 14 cm (9 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson through the Antiquarian Society
Reference Number: 1900.421
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/57125/manifest.json

Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, and Anne Wilson, “Introduction,” in On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival, eds. Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, and Anne Wilson, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025), 21, fig. 9 (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival, Sept. 6, 2025–Mar. 15, 2026, cat.

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given through the Antiquarian Society to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1900.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.