Author
Unknown
Publication Date
900
Publication Place
Byzantine (made) Egypt (found) -
Subject
Textiles Archaeology Africa
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Length: 62mm, Width: 37mm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
8554-1863
Record ID
8554-1863
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
900
Notes
Fragment of woven silk, compound twill (smaite). Possibly Byzantine, ca. AD900-1100. Dark blue, almost black, with a geometric pattern closely woven into the piece. 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
Fragment of woven silk, compound twill (samite). Dark blue, almost black, with a geometric pattern closely woven into the piece.
