These three pieces of silk textile were once part of a single garment, which was taken apart in the 19th century so that sections of it could be sold to different museums. In its original form, the garment must have been spectacularly beautiful, and we can still appreciate the design of the silk today, even though the colours have faded.
The silk was made in Iran in the 16th century, when it became the custom to use large human and animal motifs in the decorative arts. The patrons of this type of design were the rulers of the Safavid dynasty (1500–1722). Indeed, the single human figure depicted on this textile is wearing the type of headgear that marked out the dynasty’s supporters during its early years in power. The headgear consisted of a cloth wrapped around a felt cap with a long, baton-like extension.
The human figure is a young serving man, who holds a wine bottle and a small cup. He stands amid flowering plants beside a pair of elegant cypress trees. One fantastic bird flies in front of the nearest cypress, and another is perched in a third tree, which is in bloom. Behind the serving man a lion lies beside a pool fringed by grass, in which fish swim. Beyond the pool is a rocky outcrop, and beyond that a deer lies at rest, unperturbed by a leopard nearby. All these motifs, including the human figure, form the background to princely activities shown in contemporary Iranian miniatures.