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LOT 0431
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 - 6 1/8 in. (40 grams total including package, 7.2-15.7 cm).
Comprising a fragment of a clavus in white and purple linen and wool, S torsion, the central scene representing a dancer; a small fragment of a double segmenta, ornamented with vegetal embroidery; two orbiculi, one embroidered with a flower inside a rondo and with a cross in the centre, the other with a simple vegetal ornament. [4, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Museo dell'Alto Medioevo, Roma, I materiali Copti, p.100-101, for similar textiles.
FootnotesThe segmentum with the dancer was probably part of the vertical clavus of a tunic; it is highly probable that the embroidery refers to the Dionysian cycle, with dancers, animals and probably, in the missing parts, hunters.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large Egyptian Blue Glazed Eye of Horus Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Wedjat amulet with applied black detailing to the pupil; upper edge absent. 11 grams, 59 mm
with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016. -
Historic Collection of 861 Slides of Archaeological Sites in Egypt
1960s-1980s A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
Housed in five linen-covered boxes, covering Edfu, Kom Ombo, Nubia, Middle Kingdom Tombs, Semmebtisi, Thebes, Abu Simbel, Bersha, Gebravi, Rifa, Upper Egypt, El Kab, Esna, Medamud etc. 4.21 kg total, 26.5 x 16.5 x 6.5 cm each box
Property of archaeologist Stephanie Gee, N.W. London, UK, 1960s-1980s.
Stephanie Gee was a prominent archaeologist who took part in several expeditions in Egypt. She was a trusted assistant to the British-Australian archaeologist Veronica Seton-Williams, who excavated in Egypt, Britain, and the Near East. Stephanie also took part in the Tell El-Farâ'în expeditions of 1965-1968, and assisted Seton-Williams with preparing the 1966 expedition report. Their collaboration continued and Stephanie helped with the manuscript of Seton-Williams’ book ‘The Road to El-Aguzein’, a narrative account of her life that was first published in 1988. -
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Comprising two large tablia in linen and wool, with one showing an image of a hare and the other one a lion; borders with geometric decorations. 36 grams total including package, 11.2-12.2 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The theme of rabbits or hares, in association with other characters and animals of the Dionysian thiasos (here a lion), in a hunting setting, has notable parallels. Such representations are linked to narratives of the Dionysian cycle.
