Author
Unknown
Publication Date
500
Publication Place
Egypt (made) -
Subject
Textiles Africa Archaeology Death
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Diameter: 105mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
2065-1900
Record ID
2065-1900
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
500
Notes
A tapestry woven roundel of compund twill, silk/samite. Egyptian, ca. AD500-700. Colours of blue, red, cream and green (?). The roundel is edged with a border of floral motifs and crosses. In the roundel is a Christ figure (with halo) with arms outstretched. The hands are raised in prayer (orans). There is a tree on either side of the figure. The piece is stained and torn at the edges. 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
A tapestry woven roundel of compund twill, silk. Samite. Colours of blue, red, cream and green (?). The roundel is edged with a border of floral motifs and crosses. In the roundel is a Christ figure (with halo) with arms outstretched. The hands are raised in prayer (orans). There is a tree on either side of the figure. The piece is stained and torn at the edges.
Üslup
Late Antique
