Textile Fragment
7th Century - 10th Century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A circular icon, cut from a larger piece of silk compound weave. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. Samite. Green imagery on a white background. The imagery is pixelated. At the centre two leaves branch out from a central pole with a cross, within a circle, at its top. This motif is bordered with a wide circle with geometric design inside. The design is connected to other designs which have been cut away.
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.
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk samite |
| Brief description | Textile fragment, roundel from a tunic, compound twill samite in brown and buff silk, Egypt, possibly Akhmim, 7th - 10th Century |
| Physical description | Roundel from a tunic, in bichrome samite (weft-faced compound twill) woven in brown and cream/buff silks. At the centre is a stylised, geometric tree or vine, representing the tree of life. On either side are two pairs of spade-shaped leaves. The roundel is surrounded by a circular border (approximately 20mm wide) with a stylised, wave-like floral motif. At the top of the roundel is the beginning of a stem suggesting that this roundel was orgiinally the pendant at the end of a clavus. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Objecys 118-1891 to 136-1891 purchased together for £44 9s 10d from Henry Wallis. |
| Association | |
| Summary | A circular icon, cut from a larger piece of silk compound weave. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD600-900. Samite. Green imagery on a white background. The imagery is pixelated. At the centre two leaves branch out from a central pole with a cross, within a circle, at its top. This motif is bordered with a wide circle with geometric design inside. The design is connected to other designs which have been cut away. 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. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 119-1891 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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