Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0389-2380 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Coptic textile fragment | |
| Culture | Coptic Egyptian | |
| Global Region | North Africa | |
| Country | Egypt | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | ||
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | Bawit (Baweet), probably | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 500-600 CE | |
| Collection Name | Rietz Collection of Textiles | |
| Materials | Wool | |
| Description | “Fragment of an ecclesiastical tapestry from Bawit (?) (sic). The elements of the design were worked in two shades of dull yellow, a (sic) brick red, dull green, and indigo blue. What remains of the design is a portion of a decorated band framed by two narrower plain ones. In the center of the main is a strangely formed quadruped with hooves, large ears, and a long, thick tail. On the right is a jeweled cross with four birds in the angle formed on the upright and crossbar. On the left is an unoccupied jeweled throne, only partly preserved, with a bird above the remaining arm. Four small beasts with long ears and tails fill the remaining areas of the background. The fragment was woven in tapestry weave, entirely in wool, 9 x 20 [warp : weft per square cm]. It was carefully worked; the back of the piece appears nearly the same as the front, with no hanging threads and almost no weft floats. All yarn is S-twist. Sixth century. Related examples: Jeweled crosses with birds in the angles appear on textiles in London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Kendrick 1921: no. 313 pl. 5, no. 314 pl. 6). Remarks: The themes on this textile fragment are decidedly Christian in nature and are often found in Byzantine art. The empty throne symbolizes the preparation for the second coming of Christ. The jeweled cross signifies the Transfiguration of Christ. The beast may represent one of the Evangelists, Saint Luke, in his symbolic form of a bull. If so, the other three Evangelists were undoubtedly also present on the tapestry when it was complete. The theme of the vacant jeweled throne, the Hetoimasia, appears in the cupola mosaics of the Arian Baptistery in Ravenna, built in the last fifth century (Paolucci 1978:55). [This] tapestry is slightly later in date. Since it was woven with both sides nearly alike, the piece may have belonged to a church or baptistery door curtain. Bawit, where the piece is thought to have been found, is the site of a large and important monastery that grew and flourished for nearly a millennium. It was founded by a follower of Saint Pachomius the Great in the early fifth century. A large burial ground associated with it has been a rich source of textile remains. [Regarding textiles in this group, DL Carroll # 27-40 (CAS 0389-2378, -2380, -2385, -2386, -2388, -2400, -2404, -2412, -2429, -2430, -2433, -2451, -2452, -2539, -2584, -2585):] By the sixth century two basic types of textile ornaments were used to decorate garments. One, which was in use before the fourth century, was essentially monochrome. Designs in the monochrome class were both non-representational and figurative - the latter included a wide range of subject matter: plant, animal, human, and mythological. The second type is polychrome. Polychrome textiles had been made earlier, but not for use as garments. Extant examples are thought to have been decorative hangings, woven pictures as it were, that are commonly called tapestries. The use of what are essentially miniature tapestries for embellishing clothing is believed to have begun in the sixth century and to have lasted well into the Muslim period.†[From Looms and Textiles of the Copts by Diane Lee Carroll (San Francisco, CA: Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences, No. 11, 1988); Catalog # 37, pp. 116, 130-131; color plate, p. 73.] | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 19.0, Length = 12.0 | |