Cover
ca. 4th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an exceptional survival from the late Roman period in Egypt as the large cloth is complete. The linen cloth is woven with loops all-over and so also the purple woollen decorations, rather like a towel today. The border of four ornamental right-angles is characteristic of a number of large cloths from this period and would be suitable for floor-coverings, curtains and hangings. But the ornamentation was also used on cloaks and altar-coverings. The resemblance to the Greek letter gamma has given these ornamented cloths the name of gammadion, gammadiae or gammidae.
The ornament in this cloth is designed so as not exactly to balance. There are two varieties of roundels in the corners, the opposite ones being alike, and the interlaced ornament in the middle of one side is larger than the other three and different in design. If the cloth was worn over the shoulders this unsymmetrical design would make more sense than spreading it out flat.
The ornament in this cloth is designed so as not exactly to balance. There are two varieties of roundels in the corners, the opposite ones being alike, and the interlaced ornament in the middle of one side is larger than the other three and different in design. If the cloth was worn over the shoulders this unsymmetrical design would make more sense than spreading it out flat.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Looped weaving in wool and linen |
| Brief description | Large cloth of looped linen and purple wool decorations, c. 4th century AD, Egypt |
| Physical description | Undyed linen cloth faced with long loops, with woven ornament in smaller purple woollen loops. The border consists of four deep angular bands of simple geometric ornament; between these, in the middle of each side, is a small panel connected with the corner-bands by narrow stripes, thus forming a continuous border. The panels consist of interlaced ornament forming squares: three are of the same design; the fourth is larger and different. Within each angle is an ornamental circle; there are two designs, those in opposite corners being the same. A large circle of similar character occupies the middle of the cloth. At each end are two parallel stripes of running-wave pattern. The bands of bare-warp threads at top and bottom show where rods have been inserted in the warps to facilitate the weaving. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Purchased from the Parisian dealer Monsieur A P Andrea. |
| Production | Probably from Akhmim |
| Summary | This is an exceptional survival from the late Roman period in Egypt as the large cloth is complete. The linen cloth is woven with loops all-over and so also the purple woollen decorations, rather like a towel today. The border of four ornamental right-angles is characteristic of a number of large cloths from this period and would be suitable for floor-coverings, curtains and hangings. But the ornamentation was also used on cloaks and altar-coverings. The resemblance to the Greek letter gamma has given these ornamented cloths the name of gammadion, gammadiae or gammidae. The ornament in this cloth is designed so as not exactly to balance. There are two varieties of roundels in the corners, the opposite ones being alike, and the interlaced ornament in the middle of one side is larger than the other three and different in design. If the cloth was worn over the shoulders this unsymmetrical design would make more sense than spreading it out flat. |
| Bibliographic reference | Kendrick, A F. Catalogue of textiles from burying-grounds in Egypt. Vol. I. Graeco-Roman period (London: HMSO, V&A, 1920), cat. 6; ill. frontispiece |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 438-1889 |
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| Record created | June 15, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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