Author
Unknown
Publication Date
700
Publication Place
Egypt (made) -
Subject
Africa Animals and Wildlife Textiles Death
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Width: 285mm, Height: 108mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
T.22-1958
Record ID
T.22-1958
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
700
Notes
Samite, compound twill fragment in brown and cream. Egyptian, ca. AD700-900. The piece is criss-crossed with thick, floral lines (running vines). In between the diamonds that are created from the lines, are circular medallions. Some contain two birds facing each other with a tree between them and other have two birds facing opposite directions with a tree between them. The fabric is stained and has some holes. 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
Fiziksel açıklama
Samite, compound twill fragment in brown and cream. The piece is criss-crossed with thick, floral lines (running vines). In between the diamonds that are created from the lines, are circular medallions. Some contain two birds facing each other with a tree between them and other have two birds facing opposite directions with a tree between them. The fabric is stained and has some holes.
Üslup
Coptic
