Wall Hanging or Curtain Fragment with Hunt Scene

Description This panel depicting a lion and leopard hunt likely decorated a larger curtain or wall hanging. Curtains and wall hangings were used in private homes, as well as in public and religious buildings, to prevent drafts, divide spaces, and provide privacy. The tapestry weave of this piece is ideal for such textiles, as it produces a design that can be viewed from either side. Though found and probably manufactured in Egypt, this tapestry fragment shows strong Sassanian influence in the stylized animals, as well as in the depiction of the landscape. Close parallels exist in contemporary sculpture.

Provenance Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris (?) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1973, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1973