Textile Fragment
ca. AD500-700 (made)
| Place of origin |
A samite medallion, woven in purple and yellow. Egyptor Byzantine, ca, AD500-700. A thick border (29mm wide; floral icons, guilloche) encircles two mounted huntsmen with bows, who are attacking lions/tigers at the horses feet. The warriors wear cloak and the horses have decorative harnesses. On each outer corner of the circle were floral icons which have been cut away. The piece has silvery residue over some sections and has holes. Battles between men and animals symbolised the struggle between good and evil in human nature. Similar design as 2185-1900, 2185A-1900, 2185B-1900, 2186-1900 and 292-1889.
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.
|
| Materials and techniques | woven silk |
| Brief description | Woven samite medallion. Egypt or Byzantine, ca. AD500-700. Huntsmen on horseback. |
| Physical description | A samite medallion, woven in purple and yellow. A thick border (29mm wide; floral icons, guilloche) encircles two mounted huntsmen with bows, who are attacking lions/tigers at the horses feet. The warriors wear cloak and the horses have decorative harnesses. On each outer corner of the circle were floral icons which have been cut away. The piece has silvery residue over some sections and has holes. Similar design as 2185-1900, 2185A-1900, 2185B-1900, 2186-1900 and 292-1889. |
| Style | |
| Gallery label | SILKS, 7th-9th century. 1/2 weft-faced compund twill. Warp / silk, proportion 1 main to 1 binding. Weft silk of 2 colours, 2 picks of each in turn. The pieces with amazons including 4 given by Mr. Robert Taylor are from unrecorded sites in Egypt; other examples of this pattern are known which include a Christian cross or an invocation of Allah. |
| Object history | V&A objects 813-1903 to 820-1903 inclusive purchased for £80 from Monsiuer L. Paul Philip, Cairo. |
| Summary | A samite medallion, woven in purple and yellow. Egyptor Byzantine, ca, AD500-700. A thick border (29mm wide; floral icons, guilloche) encircles two mounted huntsmen with bows, who are attacking lions/tigers at the horses feet. The warriors wear cloak and the horses have decorative harnesses. On each outer corner of the circle were floral icons which have been cut away. The piece has silvery residue over some sections and has holes. Battles between men and animals symbolised the struggle between good and evil in human nature. Similar design as 2185-1900, 2185A-1900, 2185B-1900, 2186-1900 and 292-1889. 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 | 817-1903 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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