Author
Unknown
Publication Date
900
Publication Place
Byzantine (made) Spain (made) -
Subject
Archaeology Textiles Death
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Height: 140mm, Width: 162mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
1237-1864
Record ID
1237-1864
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
900
Notes
Woven silk, compound twill (samite). Brown, double warps and purple wefts. Possibly Byzantine or Spanish, ca. AD900-1300. The piece is covered with rows of diamonds each containing a central flower. One edge has a single row of whip stitching with a cream, double thread, probably of wool. There is some dirt on the piece and there are holes across the fabric. Samite (woven silk) was thought to originate from Persia under Sassanian rule (AD224-651). It was commonly decorated with pairs of animals and birds and set in pearled lotus roundels. It is often found in Western burials, within church possessions and along the Silk Road. Byzantine weaving workshops took on the samite technique to make it an essential weave of the period. It was a luxury textile of the Middle Ages brought to Europe when the Crusades opened up direct contact with the East. It was forbidden to the middle classes of France under the sumptuary rules c. 1470.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Woven silk Silk (Textile) Weaving Dyeing
Fiziksel açıklama
Woven silk, compound twill (samite). Brown, double warps and purple wefts. The piece is covered with rows of diamonds each containing a central flower. One edge has a single row of whip stitching with a cream, double thread, probably of wool. There is some dirt on the piece and there are holes across the fabric.
