front, after treatment Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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front, after treatment Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1985.107
Title
Tunic Front: Abstract Figures and Animals
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
textile
Date
6th-8th century
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
Period
Byzantine period
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/174380

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Wool and linen, tapestry weave
Technique
Woven, tapestry weave
Dimensions
75 x 37.9 cm (29 1/2 x 14 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dikran Garabed Kelekian, New York (by 1951); by descent; Charles Dikran Kelekian, New York (1951-1982); by descent; to Nanette Rodney Kelekian, New York (1982-1985), gift; to the Fogg Museum.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nanette B. Rodney
Accession Year
1985
Object Number
1985.107
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
The central and largest medallion on this tunic front shows a hunter standing next to a spotted feline. Below this is a lunette containing rabbits, plants, a hunter with a shield, and a female dancer. Three roundels run down each tunic band; these contain centaurs with musical instruments, animals, and a tree with birds. A grouping of four spotted centaurs dancing with instruments is repeated in the space between the roundels.
Commentary
The uppermost roundel on this tunic front (containing a hunter and a spotted cat) has a parallel in the Carl Austin Rietz Collection of Coptic Textiles at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS 0389-2389).1 Dimensions are comparable, and both feature dyed warp threads, suggesting that these two pieces came from the same garment.

1. Carroll, Diane Lee. Looms & Textiles of the Copts: First Millennium Egyptian Textiles in the Carl Austin Rietz Collection of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, 1988.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/28/2017 - 06/20/2018

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu