Details

LOT 0439

Egyptian Large Portion of Coptic Tunic

CIRCA 5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.

27 1/2 x 31 1/8 in. (750 grams, 70 x 79 cm).

The upper frontal part of a child's garment, decorated on both sides with purple wool and linen stripes (clavi), running vertically on both sides of the tunic, and ornamented with running animals (hares), the edges of each clavus with crenellated border; selvedged on the upper part of the tunic and with a fringed lower border. [No Reserve]

Provenance

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

Literature

Cf. Wulff, O. & Volbach, W.F., Spätantike und koptische Stoffe aus ägyptischen Grabfunden in den Staatlichen Museen Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum / Ägyptisches Museum Schliemann-Sammlung, Berlin, 1926, no.4627, p.22 and no.9195, for similar decorations on tunics.

Footnotes

Tunic decoration conformed to a specific layout with the back mirroring the front. Matching bands called clavi ran on either side of the neck. They could be full length, like in our specimen, or stop above the waistline.