LOT 0535

Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group

CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.

4 1/8 - 5 1/4 in. (41 grams total including package, 10.5-13.3 cm).

Comprising: a segmentum in red, green and black wool upon coarse linen, S torsion, embroidered with two stylised human figures, standing with the arms along the body, inscribed within a square framed with red and black chevrons, black and yellow borders; 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]

Acquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.

Cf. Forrer, R., Die Graeber und Textilfunde von Achmim Panopolis, Strassburg, 1891, pl.V no.7, for a similar tabula.

The tabula, or tablion, was a square embroidery used to decorate 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.