Lampas silk showing ducks amidst plants and geometric ornament.

Fragment of lampas silk (pannus tartaricus), pattern is formed by vertical stripes of silk warps in orange (faded), green, blue and a set of missing warps, and two pattern wefts, one of white silk and the other of leather strip gilded on one side and silvered on the other. The incomplete design of ducks amidst plants and bands of geometric ornament.
Flat strip cut from double-sided metal coated, vegetable tanned leather. One side of the strip is covered with metal leaves hammered from gold alloyed with a small amount of silver, the reverse side leaves hammered from pure silver. The silver was probably covered with a protecting lacquer layer.

This fragment comes from the sleeve of a tunic, one of a set of high mass vestments with a traditional, unsupported association with Emperor Henry VI (d. 1197), formerly in the Alte Kapelle, Regensburg, now in the Diozesamuseum, Regensburg.
Technical analysis of metal thread by Dr. Marta Jaro, Hungarian National Museum, 15/08/2004.

Tentatively ascribed to Greater Iran.

This lampas silk fragment comes from the sleeve of a tunic, one of a set of high mass vestments with a traditional, unsupported association with Emperor Henry VI (died 1197). The incomplete design of ducks amidst plants and bands of geometric ornament is formed by vertical stripes of silk warps in orange, green, blue and and two pattern wefts, one of white silk and the other of leather strip gilded on one side and silvered on the other.

8601-1863