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Details
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]
Provenance
Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Literature
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.
Footnotes
Among 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.
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RELATED LOTS
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Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
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. 40 grams total including package, 7.2-15.7 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The 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. -
Romano-Egyptian Mosaic Glass Fragments
Circa 1st century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
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Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Comprising: fragment from a wide tunic segmentum in red granate and coarse linen, S torsion, embroidered with stylised birds and plants inscribed in tondos; fragment of another segmentum in red, blue and green wool, with representations of buds. 63 grams total including package, 19.5-25 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
Similar figures are widely present in Coptic textiles, repeating a pattern in which flowers are usually paired with bird figures. This decoration is typical of tunics, but it was also used in large-scale textiles intended for domestic or funerary furnishings.
