Large Mounted Roman Linen Tunic

CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.

64 1/2 in. (7.7 kg total, mount: 1.64 m).

Comprising half of the upper part of a tunica manicata in light fabric, S-twist tapestry, ornamented with dark purple clavi with orbiculi and tablia, wool over linen; mounted in fabric backing and perspex display frame.

Provenance

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

Literature

Cf. D’Amato, R., Roman Military Clothing (3), AD 400-600, Oxford, 2005, p.8, for similar (Berlin Museum, inv.8881).

Footnotes

The tunic is decorated in purple with opus phrygium embroidery. The archaeological evidence from the dry desert cemeteries of Egypt offers striking confirmation of pictorial sources about late Roman clothing around the empire.

CONDITION

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LOT 0162