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Details
LOT 0438
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/8 - 2 1/2 in. (9 grams total including package, 60-64 mm).
Comprising: an orbiculus in coarse linen and brown wool, S torsion, embroidered with the image of a stylised bird, surrounded by tondos ornamented with geometric embroidery, borders meander decorated; a similar fragment of double segmenta, embroidered with hares alternated to fishes. [2, No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Literature
Cf. Institut du monde arabe, L'art copte en Égypte: 2000 ans de Christianisme : exposition présentée à l'Institut du monde arabe, Paris, du 15 mai au 3 septembre 2000, Paris, 2000, p.191, no.211, for a similar textile image on papyrus.
Footnotes
The iconography of this fragment is called "Nilotic," as it depicts plant and human elements linked to life on the Nile River. These images are very recurrent on Coptic textiles. Weavers created patterns that allowed them to reproduce these motifs on any type of fabric (curtains, tassels, clothing).
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