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Fragment

4th Century - 6th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tapestry woven wool and linen. Egyptian, ca. AD300-500. The linen is undyed; approx. 13x15tpc; some slit-tapestry; linen warp is paired/uses double threads; plain weave background. The wool is undyed and brown; z-spun. The design is of two ovals separated by a solid block (shaped like a capital I). The ovals each contain a lion so that the lions face eachother and the capital I. One lion has thick, horizontal stripes along the front half of the body while the other lion has thin diagonal stripes over the whole body. Some holes.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Plain woven linen, tapestry woven linen and wool
Brief description
Fragment, plain woven linen and tapestry woven linen and wool, Egypt, 4th Century - 6th Century
Physical description
Fragment of a tunic, in plain woven undyed linen and tapestry woven undyed linen and brown wool. The fabric has some holes.

The slit-tapestry woven design, in dark on light, shows two roundels, each containing a lion, facing each other. One lion has thick, horizontal stripes along the front half of the body while the other has thin diagonal stripes over the whole body. The backgrounds of the roundels are shaded in false hatching. Remains of two further roundels, with plain backgrounds and floral designs within, can be seen either side of these. The roundels are separated by a block in the shape of a capital letter 'I'. Details are picked out in flying thread brocading in undyed linen thread.

Plain weave:
Linen warp (S-spun, 16/cm).
Linen weft (S-spun, 14/cm)

Tapestry weave:
Linen warp (S-spun; paired threads)
Wool weft (Z-spun)
Linen weft (S-spun)
Dimensions
  • Width: 8cm
  • Length: 22.5cm
Style
Object history
Objects 176-1891 to 214-1891 purchased from A.L. de Lantreppe.
Summary
Tapestry woven wool and linen. Egyptian, ca. AD300-500. The linen is undyed; approx. 13x15tpc; some slit-tapestry; linen warp is paired/uses double threads; plain weave background. The wool is undyed and brown; z-spun. The design is of two ovals separated by a solid block (shaped like a capital I). The ovals each contain a lion so that the lions face eachother and the capital I. One lion has thick, horizontal stripes along the front half of the body while the other lion has thin diagonal stripes over the whole body. Some holes.
Collection
Accession number
209-1891

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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