Advanced Search 
Tapestry band from large wall hanging (see matching band 66.378)
Egyptian, Late Roman
Late Roman-Early Byzantine
3rd-4th century AD
Object Place: Mediterranean (Eastern)
Medium/Technique
Undyed linen and dyed wool tapestry
Technique: Woven vertically, side selvages preserved [please, confirm the side selvages].
Warp: undyed linen (S-spun)
Weft: colored wools (all S-spun)
Tapestry over 2—3 warps; ca. 8 group warps per 1 cm; ca. 50-60 weft yarns per 1 cm.
[please, check the accuracy of the yarn count)
[please, check if there is any trace of linen weft along the top and bottom cuts of the band or were all wefts wool? Is there any evidence along the cuts what was the weave between the bands?]
Technique: Woven vertically, side selvages preserved [please, confirm the side selvages].
Warp: undyed linen (S-spun)
Weft: colored wools (all S-spun)
Tapestry over 2—3 warps; ca. 8 group warps per 1 cm; ca. 50-60 weft yarns per 1 cm.
[please, check the accuracy of the yarn count)
[please, check if there is any trace of linen weft along the top and bottom cuts of the band or were all wefts wool? Is there any evidence along the cuts what was the weave between the bands?]
Dimensions
15 x 91.5 cm (5 7/8 x 36 in.)
Credit Line
Charles Potter Kling Fund
Accession Number66.377
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsFashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionAn exceptionally fine tapestry band cut from a longer wall hanging but preserved in its full width. It has a red ground with a colorful garland of laurel leaves, flower buds, fruits, lotus pods, even pairs of birds shown feeding at the edges, two waterfowl with the lotus on the left and two other birds on the right. The principal component of the design is a large yellow (gold?) shield with a male portrait carried by a pair of winged putti/erotes. It has a mature face turned to the left, dark hair with a reed wreath, its identity uncertain. It may represent a river god, a personification of Winter or some other mythological being as suggested by two small budding horns above the temples. The two putti/erotes with jeweled necklaces are nude with cloaks fluttering above. Nearly horizontal, they are in flying position with their heads turned to the right and to the left respectively.
The band has an exceptional stylistic and technical quality. It is one of the finest examples of the illusionistic representation in textiles from the Late Roman period. With the garland as a foil, it projects layered spatial effect that thrusts the main element of the composition—the shield bearing putti—forward toward the viewer. The facial and other modelling, graded shading, minimal contouring, and skilled use of foreshortening and overlapping further advance the three-dimensionality of the composition. The visual proximity to the 3rd and 4th century painting is so strong, that the weaving must have been made around that time as well.
The band has an exceptional stylistic and technical quality. It is one of the finest examples of the illusionistic representation in textiles from the Late Roman period. With the garland as a foil, it projects layered spatial effect that thrusts the main element of the composition—the shield bearing putti—forward toward the viewer. The facial and other modelling, graded shading, minimal contouring, and skilled use of foreshortening and overlapping further advance the three-dimensionality of the composition. The visual proximity to the 3rd and 4th century painting is so strong, that the weaving must have been made around that time as well.
Provenance1966, sold by Antiken Heinz Herzer, Munich, to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 1, 1966)