Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0389-2394 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Coptic textile fragment | |
| Culture | Coptic Egyptian | |
| Global Region | North Africa | |
| Country | Egypt | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | ||
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 370-435 CE | |
| Collection Name | Rietz Collection of Textiles | |
| Materials | Linen; Wool | |
| Description | “Square cut from a woman’s tunic. A formal, monochrome rinceau with filler-motifs, originally purple but now brown, decorates this piece. Three of its roundels contain symmetrical plants, three others animals. Two of the animals are hounds and one is a lion. The backgrounds of the animals are shaded; backgrounds of the plants, plain. Leaves, or possibly lotus pods, sprout from the vine stalks. The leaves of the small plants resemble vine leaves. The linen tabby ground, 16 x 16 [warp : weft per square cm], has tapestry inserts woven in wool on grouped linen warps, 9 x 48 [warp : weft per square cm]. The weaving reflects considerable skill - the threads are fine and placed with precision. All yarn is S-twist. Late fourth or early fifth century. Related example: An entire garment in Moscow, Pushkin Museum inv. #5823 (Shurinova 1967:5). Remarks: The piece could be a part of a garment resembling the tunic in the Pushkin Collection, cited above, which is ornamented with motifs nearly identical to those of [this] specimen. The Moscow tunic has been identified as a woman’s dress. From depictions in art it appears that the garments of women were more extensively decorated than those of men and were more likely to feature figured or floral motifs in their decorations. The textiles in this group [DL Carroll # 1-16 (CAS 0389-2375, -2376, -2377, -2394, -2397, -2398, -2402, -2403, -2406, -2407, -2413, -2421, -2425, -2426, -2583, -2586)] are the earliest in the collection and belong to the period dominated by Rome. A number of them represent types of garments that could have indicated social rank or would have been appropriate wear for persons with high positions in the extensive bureaucracy of the 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 # 13, pp. 82, 99.] | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 27.0, Length = 17.0 | |