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Details
LOT 0587
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 - 5 1/8 in. (36 grams total including package, 8.7-13 cm).
Comprising: an orbiculus in purple wool and coarse linen, on brown linen background, S torsion, embroidered with two stylised lions, the borders crenellated; a tabula in purple wool and coarse linen, on brown linen background, S torsion, embroidered with a central cross, the borders decorated with meanders. [2, No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Literature
Cf. Forrer, R., Die Graeber und Textilfunde von Achmim Panopolis, Strassburg, 1891, pl.V no.7, for a similar tabula.
Footnotes
The tabula, or tablion, was a squared embroidery decorating tunics or mantles. The Christian elements, like the cross at the centre of our tabula, began to decorate the garments from the 4th century onwards.
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