Textile Fragment
ca. AD400-600
| Place of origin |
Weft-faced compound twill, samite. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD400-600. In numerous fragments so that the imagery cannot been easily identified. Appears to be floral borders creating suqare panels with motifs within the panels. Possibly St Michael. Light and dark brown. Once attached to a linen panel.
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 | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven silk and linen |
| Brief description | Samite fragment. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD400-600. Imagery of a saint. |
| Physical description | Weft-faced compound twill samite. In numerous fragments so that the imagery cannot been easily identified. Appears to be floral borders creating suqare panels with motifs within the panels. Possibly St Michael. Light and dark brown. Once attached to a linen panel. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Sir Henry H. Howorth, K.C.I.E., F.S.A. |
| Object history | No. 45 in Mr I. Sassoons' collection of Coptic textiles, submitted Feb. 1917 (RP 1917/337 and 1917/544). Given to the Museum in 1917 by Sir Henry Hoyle Howorth, K.C.I.E., a Conservative politician, barrister, amateur historian and geologist. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Weft-faced compound twill, samite. Possibly Egyptian or Byzantine, ca. AD400-600. In numerous fragments so that the imagery cannot been easily identified. Appears to be floral borders creating suqare panels with motifs within the panels. Possibly St Michael. Light and dark brown. Once attached to a linen panel. 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 | T.34-1917 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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