THREE COPTIC TEXTILE FRAGMENTS, INCLUDING A DECORATIVE BAND FROM A...
THREE COPTIC TEXTILE FRAGMENTS, INCLUDING A DECORATIVE BAND FROM A TUNIC (CLAVUS)
Egypt, c. 4th-8th century and 5th-7th century
The first a fine fragment of monochrome decoration featuring a central field filled with lozenges containing crosses, bordered by a scroll of stylized vine leaves - the design is clearly of Byzantine inspiration and recalls Roman mosaics - possibly originally part of a tunic, the second, also possibly originally part of a tunic, of typical style in unbleached linen embellished with decorative motifs woven in coloured wool, the third a fragment of an ornamental medallion or band from a tunic, these pieces known as clavi, which drew on different sources of inspiration depending on the period - from the 5th to the mid-7th century, designs often featured Roman Byzantine, and Persian Sasanian iconography.
Largest fragment 27.7cm x 14cm, smallest 10.5cm x 9.7cm, largest total including frame 43cm x 29cm, smallest 23.5cm x 25.3cm.
Textiles of this type are believed to have been made by Copts (Christian Egyptians) as well as by other weavers across the Byzantine Empire. The patterns and motifs found in Coptic and Byzantine textiles influenced the visual vocabulary of the early Islamic period, and are largely distinguished by motifs derived from Classical and Hellenistic artistic traditions. By the 5th century, Christian iconography was also fully incorporated. Tunics were usually produced from plain, unbleached linen and embellished with decorative motifs woven in coloured wool. They were the defining article of clothing in the Late Antique period, and were also commonly used as burial garments - which is why the majority of preserved examples have been recovered from funerary contexts. These textiles have been preserved over time thanks to the arid climate and the continuation, within Christian communities, of the Egyptian funerary custom of burying the deceased fully clothed, often wrapped in large textile coverings. They were produced in structured, specialized workshops that remained active into the early Islamic era.
For a similar example:
Museo del Tessuto e della Tappezzeria, Vittorio Zironi, Bologna, Italy, Acc. no. 2106.
Literature;
Landry, W., and Rameau, AL., Richard, A.,Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Mediterranean Antiquities, Vol. 4: The Coptic Textiles. Leiden: Brill, 2019.
Lee Carroll, D, Looms and Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Rietz Collection, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988.
Thomas, T. K., Textiles from Medieval Egypt, AD 300–1300 in the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2001.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
THREE COPTIC TEXTILE FRAGMENTS, INCLUDING A DECORATIVE BAND FROM A TUNIC (CLAVUS)
Egypt, c. 4th-8th century and 5th-7th century
The first a fine fragment of monochrome decoration featuring a central field filled with lozenges containing crosses, bordered by a scroll of stylized vine leaves - the design is clearly of Byzantine inspiration and recalls Roman mosaics - possibly originally part of a tunic, the second, also possibly originally part of a tunic, of typical style in unbleached linen embellished with decorative motifs woven in coloured wool, the third a fragment of an ornamental medallion or band from a tunic, these pieces known as clavi, which drew on different sources of inspiration depending on the period - from the 5th to the mid-7th century, designs often featured Roman Byzantine, and Persian Sasanian iconography.
Largest fragment 27.7cm x 14cm, smallest 10.5cm x 9.7cm, largest total including frame 43cm x 29cm, smallest 23.5cm x 25.3cm.
Textiles of this type are believed to have been made by Copts (Christian Egyptians) as well as by other weavers across the Byzantine Empire. The patterns and motifs found in Coptic and Byzantine textiles influenced the visual vocabulary of the early Islamic period, and are largely distinguished by motifs derived from Classical and Hellenistic artistic traditions. By the 5th century, Christian iconography was also fully incorporated. Tunics were usually produced from plain, unbleached linen and embellished with decorative motifs woven in coloured wool. They were the defining article of clothing in the Late Antique period, and were also commonly used as burial garments - which is why the majority of preserved examples have been recovered from funerary contexts. These textiles have been preserved over time thanks to the arid climate and the continuation, within Christian communities, of the Egyptian funerary custom of burying the deceased fully clothed, often wrapped in large textile coverings. They were produced in structured, specialized workshops that remained active into the early Islamic era.
For a similar example:
Museo del Tessuto e della Tappezzeria, Vittorio Zironi, Bologna, Italy, Acc. no. 2106.
Literature;
Landry, W., and Rameau, AL., Richard, A.,Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Mediterranean Antiquities, Vol. 4: The Coptic Textiles. Leiden: Brill, 2019.
Lee Carroll, D, Looms and Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Rietz Collection, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988.
Thomas, T. K., Textiles from Medieval Egypt, AD 300–1300 in the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2001.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
