LOT 0425

Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment

CIRCA 7TH CENTURY A.D.

12 1/8 in. (103 grams total including package, 31 cm).

Large fragment of tapestry, comprising two segmenta, in red granate wool and coarse linen, on green wool background, S-Z torsion, embroidered with stylised birds, palmettes and other vegetal ornaments, the borders of both segmenta decorated with meanders. [No Reserve]

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

Cf. Каковкин, А.Я. (Kakovkin, A.Ya.), Коптские ткани из фондов Эрмитажа.Каталог выставки (Coptic textiles from the Hermitage collection. Exhibition catalogue, in Russian), Leningrad, 1978, p.34, no.56, for a similar textile.

This fabric was probably part of a wall tapestry or of a large garment. In 7th century A.D., the stylisation was always more evident on the embroidery of the Coptic textiles, especially when the Arab conquest banned the imagery of the Graeco-Roman world. The decoration was mostly concentrated on geometric ornaments or images of stylised animals.