Details

LOT 0436

Egyptian Mounted Coptic Textile

CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.

15 x 8 1/4 in. (90 grams, 38.2 x 21 cm).

Part of a tunic, the rectangular segment in yellow and green linen and wool, decorated with acanthus flowers inside a kantharos, the crenellated edge with palmettes alternating with dots. [No Reserve]

Provenance

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

Literature

Cf. Wulff,O. & W.F.Volbach, Spätantike und koptische Stoffe aus ägyptischen Grabfunden in den Staatlichen Museen Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum / Ägyptisches Museum Schliemann-Sammlung, Berlin, 1926, no.6880, p.123, for similar textile in style.

Footnotes

Tapestry technique on natural light yellow wool upon linen. It is highly probable that this tapestry was part of a tunic decoration, a clavus, running vertically on the breast and on the back of it. The decoration conformed to a specific layout with the back mirroring the front. These matching bands, called clavi, ran on either side of the neck. They could be full length or like our specimen, stop above the waistline.