A fine Nasrid silk lampas, Spain, probably Granada, late 15th century

of rectangular form, the silk dark green ground applied with red rose and yellow, a repeated pattern of "affrontes" lions enclosed by scrolling leaf motif bearing pomegranates

In the same European noble family for over one hundred years

overall in good condition, small area of repair, some fraying and minor loss of colour to the extremities, as viewed.
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The crowned, confronting lions are placed in offset horizontal rows beneath an arch formed by pairs of curved stems which curl back on themselves and terminate in a divided leaf pattern. This popular Nasrid design is documented in at least thirty-four extant fragments with some variation in the detail and coloured grounds (Thompson, J., Silk. 13th to 18th centuires. Treasures from the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar, Doha, 2004, p.24). For further examples see La Seta Islamica. Temi ed Influenze Culturali, Florence, 1999, no.22, p.77, and Ecker 2004, no.55, pp.61-63 and 146-147.

The distinctive extravagent curled leaves appears to be a conscious reference to a style of decoration that was brought to Spain from the East after the massacre of the Umayyad family in Damascus in A.D. 750, an event which led to the foundation of the first Islamic dynasty in Spain.

It is possible that textiles such as this lampas were produced by Muslim weavers for the Christian market and that the heraldic lions are a reference to the emblem of the kingdom of Leon-Castile (Ibid, p.24).

This textile remains a superb example of late Nasrid or post-Nasrid production, exemplifying new patterns and motifs created in Granada in the late 15th century.