Indigenous Egyptian
weavers during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine eras
produced amazingly intricate textile art. Most of the small
tapestry and soumak fragments on these pages originally decorated
tunics or 'dalmatics' and were woven in wool or a
combination of linen and wool. Because they were
preserved in graves under extremely dry, sandy
conditions, these fragments are among the earliest
textiles available to collectors, as they date from the
4th through 8th centuries. They incorporate a variety of
design influences, from Greco-Roman mythology to
Christian symbolism. Delicate geometric interlace
motifs may have been intended to protect the wearer
from the 'evil eye,' while plants, animals, birds, and
human figures provide charming naive decoration.
The nearly monochromatic coloring of the 1500- to
1600-year-old tapestries differs from slightly later
work that uses a wider range of hues. The single wool
color in most of the earliest pieces was originally a
dark brownish purple--the 'royal purple' of
antiquity--and in most has now faded to brown. The
plain-weave tunic grounds were most often
natural-colored linen. Typical tunic decoration
consisted of narrow bands that extended downwards from
the shoulders, pairs of bands on the sleeves, and
square, oval or round tapestry inserts on the shoulders
and lower front. It is fragments of these elaborate
bands and inserts that have survived. A
few of the fragments originally decorated curtains, wall
hangings, or shawls. Please realize that the dates listed
below are
only educated guesses. The pieces are unmounted,
and furnished in acid-free plastic sleeves.
Click on the inventory numbers below to see
larger photos of the textiles. On monitors with a
1024 x 768 resolution, actual-size photos will
appear on the individual linked pages, along with magnified versions or details. |
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