Definition
A figured silk weaving technique in which supplementary wefts, often including gold- or silver-wrapped thread, create pictorial or floral designs on a silk ground.
History
Brocaded silks with figures, flowering plants and inscriptions are among the celebrated textiles attributed to Safavid Iran. Small revival workshops operate today, and the craft is widely described as rare.
Dates and attributions here summarise common scholarly positions and are under editorial review; they are not definitive.
Technique
Designs are programmed into a figure harness so that selected supplementary wefts rise to the face in each pass; metal thread is typically a thin strip of gilded or silvered metal wound around a silk core.
Collecting and identification
Examine the thread structure, tarnish of metal thread, repeat layout and reverse face; many historical pieces survive only as fragments or cut-down panels.
This guidance is educational only and is not an authentication or valuation service.
Reference samples
The reference samples on this page are documented objects in public collections, shown with their holding institution's attribution and licence. They illustrate the craft and are not for sale.
Gallery
Images are representative examples, not evidence for the sample marketplace records. Their sources and permission status are listed in the photography credits.
Marketplace
No objects of this craft are currently listed.
Reference samples in collections
Documented objects from museums, archives and auction records, shown for study. Not for sale; attributions are the holding institution's, not CraftPersia's.
Fragment with Inscription
before 1986
Silk: compound weave
Cleveland Museum of Art · 1986.89 · CC0 (museum open access)
Fragment with Landscape, Hunters, and Ibexes
before 1982
Silk: lampas weave
Cleveland Museum of Art · 1982.21 · CC0 (museum open access)
Fragment with Mounted Hunter Spearing Animals
before 1982
Silk: lampas weave
Cleveland Museum of Art · 1982.22 · CC0 (museum open access)
Sources & references
- Book: Wulff, H. E. The Traditional Crafts of Persia. MIT Press, 1966.
- Museum catalogue: Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access collection records for Iranian objects (accessed 2026-09-24).
Where origins, dates or symbolism are contested, this entry states the competing readings rather than choosing between them. Editorial analysis is not presented as documented fact.