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Textile Fragment

6th Century - 10th Century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Fragment of a plain woven, undyed linen tunic, decorated with a set of three clavi alternating between brocaded and tapestry woven dyed wool. The clavi are incomplete at the top, but preserve their pendants at the bottom.

On the first and third clavi, a repeated geometric pattern is brocaded in pink, red, orange, and dark green dyed wools; the clavus is outlined and the geometric cross-shaped motifs held within a diaper lozenge of white-beige wool. At the base of each of these is a pendant containing another cross-motif in orange. Between these two brocaded clavi is a tapestry woven clavus; at the centre is a floral ornament in pink, white, orange, dark and light green on a red ground, bordered above and below by a row of faces within roundels, on an orange ground. At the base of this clavus is a pendant with a leaf-shaped ornament in orange, red, yellow and blue. The whole clavus is outlined in dark blue-green. Portions of the wool have been lost from the clavus.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Plain woven linen, tapestry woven wool, wool brocade
Brief description
Fragment of a tunic, plain woven linen, tapestry woven linen and wool and wool brocade, Egypt, possibly 6th - 10th Century
Physical description
Fragment of a plain woven, undyed linen tunic, decorated with a set of three clavi alternating between brocaded and tapestry woven dyed wool. The clavi are incomplete at the top, but preserve their pendants at the bottom.

On the first and third clavi, a repeated geometric pattern is brocaded in pink, red, orange, and dark green dyed wools; the clavus is outlined and the geometric cross-shaped motifs held within a diaper lozenge of white-beige wool. At the base of each of these is a pendant containing another cross-motif in orange. Between these two brocaded clavi is a tapestry woven clavus; at the centre is a floral ornament in pink, white, orange, dark and light green on a red ground, bordered above and below by a row of faces within roundels, on an orange ground. At the base of this clavus is a pendant with a leaf-shaped ornament in orange, red, yellow and blue. The whole clavus is outlined in dark blue-green. Portions of the wool have been lost from the clavus.

Dimensions
  • Length: 20in
  • Width: 10in
  • 1st band width: 2in
  • 2nd band width: 1.5in
Object history
242-1887 to 297-1887 inclusive purchased for 9s 6d from Reverend Greville Chester.
Association
Bibliographic reference
A set of clavi in a similar alternating tapestry and brocade style are held in Dumbarton Oaks (BZ.1953.2.88). According to the online collections entry for this piece, multiple clavi are more commonly found on the backs of tunics.
Collection
Accession number
258-1887

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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