Textile Fragment
ca. AD600-900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Textile of weft-faced, compound weave, samite. Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. The dark purple repeating pattern is on a light purple background. The pattern is of interlaced zig-zags that create diamonds across the fabric. Within each diamond is a motif of a small club/trefoil (6mm wide).
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 | Woven samite. Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. Geometric motifs. |
| Physical description | Textile of weft-faced, compound weave, samite. The dark purple repeating pattern is on a light purple background. The pattern is of interlaced zig-zags that create diamonds across the fabric. Within each diamond is a motif of a small club/trefoil (6mm wide). |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | |
| Credit line | Given by Robert Taylor |
| Object history | Given to the Museum in 1900 by Robert Taylor. |
| Summary | Textile of weft-faced, compound weave, samite. Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. The dark purple repeating pattern is on a light purple background. The pattern is of interlaced zig-zags that create diamonds across the fabric. Within each diamond is a motif of a small club/trefoil (6mm wide). 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 | 2098-1900 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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