Textile Fragment
ca. AD600-900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A length of woven silk/samite. The warp is a dark cream and the weft is green and white (approx. 17x28 tpc). The centre of the piece is filled with geometric/pixelated versions of a man with a raised hand (?), animals, a tree and a floral icon. It is edged on both sides with a geometric border. Similar to 299-1891.
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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Woven silk |
| Brief description | Length of samite in cream/buff and green. Egyptian, possibly Akhmim, ca. AD600-900. |
| Physical description | A length of woven silk/samite. The warp is a dark cream and the weft is green and white (approx. 28x17 tpc). The centre of the piece is filled with geometric/pixelated versions of a man with a raised hand (?), animals, a tree and a floral icon. It is edged on both sides with a geometric border. Similar to 299-1891. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | |
| Credit line | Given by The Revd. G.J. Chester |
| Object history | Objects 275-1891 to 303-1891 purchased from Monsieur Phocion Tano. |
| Summary | A length of woven silk/samite. The warp is a dark cream and the weft is green and white (approx. 17x28 tpc). The centre of the piece is filled with geometric/pixelated versions of a man with a raised hand (?), animals, a tree and a floral icon. It is edged on both sides with a geometric border. Similar to 299-1891. 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 | 300-1891 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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