Textile Fragment
ca. AD500-700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A tapestry woven roundel of compund twill, silk/samite. Egyptian, ca. AD500-700. Colours of blue, red, cream and green (?). The roundel is edged with a border of floral motifs and crosses. In the roundel is a Christ figure (with halo) with arms outstretched. The hands are raised in prayer (orans). There is a tree on either side of the figure. The piece is stained and torn at the edges.
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 roundel of samite. Egyptian, ca. AD500-700. Christ with arms outstretched. |
| Physical description | A tapestry woven roundel of compund twill, silk. Samite. Colours of blue, red, cream and green (?). The roundel is edged with a border of floral motifs and crosses. In the roundel is a Christ figure (with halo) with arms outstretched. The hands are raised in prayer (orans). There is a tree on either side of the figure. The piece is stained and torn at the edges. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Robert Taylor, Esq. in 1900 |
| Summary | A tapestry woven roundel of compund twill, silk/samite. Egyptian, ca. AD500-700. Colours of blue, red, cream and green (?). The roundel is edged with a border of floral motifs and crosses. In the roundel is a Christ figure (with halo) with arms outstretched. The hands are raised in prayer (orans). There is a tree on either side of the figure. The piece is stained and torn at the edges. 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 | 2065-1900 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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