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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1916.396
Title
Fragment with Two Vines
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
textile
Date
4th-6th century
Places
Creation Place: Africa, Egypt
Period
Byzantine period
Culture
Byzantine
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215133

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Linen and wool
Technique
Woven, tapestry weave
Dimensions
12.7 x 58.42 cm (5 x 23 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of DR. D. ROSS
Accession Year
1916
Object Number
1916.396
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Two inwoven tapestry woven bands run across this textile. The bands take the form of thick undulating vines with grape leaves occurring at regular intervals. Each leaf is preceded and followed by two or three grapes. Light dots run along the center of each vine. The tapestry bands are separated by a section of plain woven linen. The linen warps run perpendicular to the direction of the bands. The vines are created with purple wool and undyed linen wefts.

The bands are set fairly close together, and so probably do not represent the clavi of a tunic. The textile may come from a furnishing—purple stripes were favorite motifs for furnishing textiles since Greek and Roman times—or another form of garment like a shawl. Furnishings from the domestic environment were often repurposed to wrap a body in a burial, and the staining on this textile confirms this use.
Commentary
The vine motif is associated with Dionysus and evoked the good life, rebirth, and salvation in Late Antiquity. Dionysiac imagery was appreciated by pagans and Christians alike in the Early Byzantine period. For more on this topic, see Glen Bowersock, “Dionysus and His World,” in Hellenism in Late Antiquity (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1990), pp. 41-53.

The use of purple in textiles, whether true purple dye from the murex shellfish or imitations, was meant to signal wealth.

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