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LOT 0504
Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 - 7 7/8 in. (40 grams total including package, 17-20 cm).
Comprising: terminal part of a clavus from a tunic with an orbiculus, in purple wool on linen, embroidered with vegetal and floral motifs, framed by straight borders with external crenellation; a fragment of segmentum in yellow, green and red wool, S torsion, embroidered with floral and geometric patterns. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Del Francia Barocas, L., Antinoe, Cent’anni dopo, catalogo della mostra, Firenze, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, 10 Luglio – 1 novembre 1998, p.83, for similar textiles.
FootnotesThe fragments are decorative parts of tunics. These are fabrics of great decorative finesse, with some elements displaying an unusual and extremely well-preserved color palette. The plant designs recall Iranian 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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Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment Group
Circa 4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Comprising: remains of a segmentum in yellow, green and brown wool over a red linen background, S torsion, embroidered with a central band and coloured buds; a near complete tablion with representation of a dancer, inside a rondo, with four hares running on the four corners, triangular border on the external edge. 33 grams total including package, 10.7-12.2 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The central dancing figure, with her attributes and attitude, can only be interpreted as a Maenad, isolated from the Bacchic procession and abandoned to sacred trances. -
Large Egyptian Blue Glazed Solar Bead
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Flat and crescent-shaped with transverse piercings to the reverse; an end spacer for a multi-strand necklace. 24 grams, 82 mm wide
with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016. -
Egyptian Bronze Isis and Horus Pendant
Late-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Isis modelled seated and suckling infant Horus on her lap, suspension loop behind the head. 5.04 grams, 39 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, Isis was the sister-wife of Osiris and the mother of the sky god Horus. She is associated with fertility and motherhood and is often depicted in artworks seated in a nursing pose with her son, Horus, on her lap, as here.
