Author
Unknown
Publication Date
600
Publication Place
Byzantine (made) Egypt (made) -
Subject
Textiles Archaeology Africa Death
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Height: 133mm, Width: 163mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
2098-1900
Record ID
2098-1900
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
600
Notes
Textile of weft-faced, compound weave, samite. Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. The dark purple repeating pattern is on a light purple background. The pattern is of interlaced zig-zags that create diamonds across the fabric. Within each diamond is a motif of a small club/trefoil (6mm wide). Samite (twill 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
Textile of weft-faced, compound weave, samite. The dark purple repeating pattern is on a light purple background. The pattern is of interlaced zig-zags that create diamonds across the fabric. Within each diamond is a motif of a small club/trefoil (6mm wide).
