Textile Fragment
ca. AD1000-1300 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A samite fragment. Byzantine ca. AD1000-1300. From Halberstadt Cathedral. Maroon background with green floral rosettes and vine leaves. Centre of the rosettes are yellow or red. Some damage along one edge. Selvedge on one side. Double warp, z-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.
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven silk |
| Brief description | A samite fragment. Byzantine ca. AD1000-1300. |
| Physical description | A samite fragment. Maroon background with green floral rosettes and vine leaves. Centre of the rosettes is yellow or red. Some damage along one edge. Selvedge on one side. Double warp, z-spun. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | BYZANTINE; 12th century.
From Halberstadt Cathedral.
1 x 2 weft faced twill; single binding and figure harness warps; 2, occasionally 3 wefts.
Warps: binding and figure harness, Z, silk, light brown.
Wefts: silk, purple, dark green, yellow, red. |
| Summary | A samite fragment. Byzantine ca. AD1000-1300. From Halberstadt Cathedral. Maroon background with green floral rosettes and vine leaves. Centre of the rosettes are yellow or red. Some damage along one edge. Selvedge on one side. Double warp, z-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. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 8561-1863 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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