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LOT 0415
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 4TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 - 8 7/8 in. (42 grams total including package, 8.5-22.5 cm).
Comprising: a decorative tunic stripe (clavus) in purple wool over coarse linen, S-twist tapestry, divided in three sections embroidered with geometric ornaments, borders meander decorated; an orbiculus in white and black wool, S-twist tapestry, embroidered with stylised animals; fragment of fabric in red, yellow, blue and green wool, with vegetal patterns; fragments of a segmentum, in white and black wool, S-twist tapestry, embroidered with stylised figures. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Gayet, M. Al., Le Costume en Egypte, du IIIe au XIIIe Siecle, Paris, 1900, no. 4, pp.86-87, for similar style of clavi; Various, Tissus d’Egypte temoins du monde arabe, VIIIe-XVe siècles, Collection Bouvier, Paris, 1994.
FootnotesAmong the many fragments of wool tunics, several long strips that match to form nearly full-length central pectoral clavi can be found. They are patterned with a profusion of small figures or interlaced abstract designs, birds, plants and animals with a contrasting border filled with geometric motifs.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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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 7th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising: a fragment of a segmentum in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with a series of heads alternating with a flying putto holding a melograne; a fragment of another segmentum in linen and red, brown, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with vegetal patterns, borders decorated with meanders; a fragment of a segmentum in linen and red, brown, white, yellow and blue wool, S torsion, embroidered with floral buds; a small fragment of a tablion with geometric decoration, purple wool on linen. 44 grams total including package, 4.3-20.5 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Some of these pieces are fragments from a tunic decoration, usually belonging to bands on red background, decorated with a series of motifs related to the Dionysian cult: usually these depict cherubs, fish, heads, palmettes, vegetal and floral ornaments, as well as figures of dancing puttoes within the orbiculi. The decorative motifs on these tunics were usually arranged vertically and horizontally. -
Egyptian Bronze Figure of a Shrew
Late-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Modelled in the round in a crouching pose on a rectangular base with an attachment peg. 145 grams, 73 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
This figure most likely comes from a shrew coffin or votive statuette. The dwarf shrew (Crocidura nana) and Flower’s shrew (Crocidura floweri) were among many animal species buried in dedicated cemeteries across various parts of Egypt. Ironically, these tiny creatures symbolised Horus in his raptor-headed form — a figure who, in reality, would have preyed upon them. Shrews were associated with Khenty-irty, the “seeing-and-blind god,” due to their ability to navigate darkness. It may be possible to read the shrew’s symbolism as that of seeking light in darkness, representing the Egyptian belief in the deceased’s journey through the hours of the night before rebirth at dawn. Radiographic analysis of a bundle containing about twenty-one shrews shows that they were dried whole, with no evisceration, preserved by being ‘pickled’ in natron.
