Tabula with huntsman and frieze of busts

Inventory number: FT 44
Photo Michel Lechien, Musée royal de Mariemont

Horseman on a lavishly-harnessed mount, beneath which runs a hare. The wide border contains sixteen medallions decorated with vine leaves, each with a full-face bust.

Origin:

Egypt

Date:

5th - 7th century

Material:

Linen and wool

Dimensions:

Warp: 22 cm, weft: 22 cm

Comparisons:

Cleveland Art Museum, inv. 1926.148: busts.
Louvre, inv. X 4981: horseman.
Classical iconography of Graeco-Roman imagines clipeatae (painted on a shield), to represent busts of the dead.

Provenance:

Collection Coptic textiles Fill-Trevisiol: donation

Location:

Musée royal de Mariemont

Woollen and linen tapestry

I. No ground weave


II. Tapestry areas

Warp:

natural-coloured wool S: 12-14/cm

Weft:

purple (brown discoloured) wool S: 65/cm; natural-coloured linen? wool?, S

Weave:

weft-faced tabby

Special techniques:

slit tapestry, eccentric weft, vertical weft brocading, flying thread
brocading for details only

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