Author
Unknown
Publication Date
900
Publication Place
Egypt (made) Istanbul (made) -
Subject
Archaeology Textiles Africa Death
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Length: 165mm, Width: 130mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
1383-1888
Record ID
1383-1888
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
900
Notes
A very fragmented samite piece attached to a linen backing. Woven, weft-faced compound twill. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD900-1300. The silk is red and cream/undyed and seems to create a circular pattern, with a guilloche border and floral design inside the circle. The linen backing is white with discolouration and a small burnt hole in the middle; 20x17 tpc; s-spun. 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.
İlişki
Greville Chester
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Woven silk and linen Silk (Textile) Linen Weaving Dyeing
Fiziksel açıklama
A fragmented samite piece attached to a linen backing. Woven, weft-faced compound twill. The silk is red and cream/undyed and seems to create a circular pattern, with a guilloche border and floral design inside the circle. The linen backing is white with discolouration and a small burnt hole in the middle; 20x17 tpc; s-spun.
