Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0389-2425 | |
| 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. 400-500 CE | |
| Collection Name | Rietz Collection of Textiles | |
| Materials | Linen; Wool | |
| Description | “Fragment of a clavus. The clavus has a tan ground, originally white, and is decorated with an inhabited rinceau worked in light brown. The inhabitants are running animals - a hare, a lion, and an antelope. The basic weave is linen rep, 20 x 10 [warp : weft per square cm], with a wool and linen tapestry insert woven on grouped warps, 7 x 32 [warp : weft per square cm]. The tapestry wefts are curved to help define the design. All yarn is S-twist. Fifth century. Related examples: An entire tunic with similar motifs is in London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Kendrick 1920:41, pl. 2). Remarks: Scroll motifs in the form of leafy vines incorporating various zoomorphic motifs have late antique origins but continued to be popular in Early Christian and Medieval art. Running animals sometimes symbolize a hunt, the assumption being that something or someone is chasing them. The hunt, in turn, has its symbolism: the chase refers to the attempt to drive out various evils from an individual’s life and psyche. Note that the lion in this context has a very different meaning than the isolated lion in [specimen CAS 0389-2586]. 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 # 15, pp. 82, 100-101.] | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = 30.0, Length = 10.0 | |