Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0389-2386 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Coptic textile fragment | |
| Culture | Coptic Egyptian | |
| Global Region | North Africa | |
| Country | Egypt | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | ||
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | Akhmîm (Panopolis) | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 400-500 CE, possibly | |
| Collection Name | Rietz Collection of Textiles | |
| Materials | Silk; Linen | |
| Description | “Tunic shoulder-band pendant medallion from Akhmîm. Cream-colored warp, light green and cream-colored weft. Symmetrical floral design composed of small block-shaped units. The back of the textile shows the design in reverse. A silk, weft-faced drawloom twill, there is one main warp between two binder warps with three main warps to a pattern unit. The warp is single-ply Z-twist; the weft yarns appear to have no twist at all. The piece is heavily damaged and has been crudely and wrongly restored by pasting small pieces of linen cloth to the back. Its original form can be conjectured by the observation of related textiles in other collections. Edges of the piece have been folded under, indicating that it was appliquéd to a garment. Fifth century in style, but perhaps later in construction. Related examples: London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 798, 799 (Kendrick 1922); Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (sic), 721.10 (Bellinger 1950-52:15). Remarks: A linen garment with silk appliqués woven in a similar style is extant, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 794 (sic) (Kendrick 1922). Drawloom textiles of the class to which [this] specimen belongs had a long life (see Grube 1962). The complexity of the weave was such that it discouraged creativity or even experimentation with modest variations, so once drafted, a pattern tended to remain unchanged for generations. Akhmîm is the modern name for the ancient city of Panopolis. It may have been a center for the production of drawloom silks. In the Early Christian period a large monastery was founded nearby, the White Monastery, which still stands and is used as a place of worship. [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 # 34, pp. 116, 125, 128.] | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 11.0, Length = 12.0 | |