Two fragments of woven silk/samite thought to come from a church in the Rhineland. Possibly Byzantine, ca. AD700-1000. Colours are buff and light brown. The imagery is of two lions back-to-back, with heads turned to face each other. The piece has been torn in half and the figure that would have stood between the lions is missing. All that remains is an upraised arm on each piece, palms facing upwards. Perhaps it represents Daniel in the lions den. There is an eight pointed star on either side of each arm. One piece has an architectural column (Corinthian) at the edge. One the other piece some of the cloak worn by the missing figure can be seen draped over the arm. The pieces are stained and with some rips and holes.

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.