Images

Painted plaster, H. 38.4 cm; W. 14.7 cm; D. 9.6 cm. Hermopolis (El- Eshmunein), Egypt, 5th century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Maurice Nahman, 1912 (12.185.4).Polychromy (coloration) is well preserved on this statuette, where painted details indicate luxurious features of the woman’s clothing, typical of the Late Antique period. The statuette may have commemorated the deceased, and the large gold necklace she is wearing may indicate that the woman represented was of elite status.

Tapestry weave of dyed wool, undyed linen, plain (tabby) ground weave of undyed linen, L. 269.5 cm; W. 181.5 cm. Panopolis (Akhmim), Egypt, ca. Early 6th century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1926 (26.9.8).The imagery on this tunic, which includes a number of Dionysian motifs that seem to refer to Dionysus's campaign through India, suggests that it may have been worn for banqueting or drinking parties. Furthermore, like most of the well-preserved garments of Late Antiquity, the staining of this tunic indicates reuse in a burial.

Tapestry weave of dyed wools and undyed linen, H. 139 cm; W. 86.4 cm. Egypt, 4th century CE. Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1975.6. The inscription by the head of the male figure identifies him a a Satyr, a lustful and often drunk member of Dionysus's retinue. Beside him is a Maenad, the usual companions of satyrs, who often accompanied Dionysus on his wanderings.

Paint (probably tempera), plain (tabby) ground weave of undyed linen, L. 230.5 cm; W. 111 cm. Antinoopolis (El- Sheikh Abada), Egypt, ca. 2nd–3rd century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1909 (09.181.8). This shroud has no signs of having been draped or folded and was therefore probably displayed in a tomb as a wall hanging, rather than wrapped around a coffin or a body. The woman represented wears an under-tunic with a straight neck opening painted in gold with a design of triangles, a light wide-sleeved tunic, and a mantle. This portrait is painted in the traditional Greco-Roman style though there are also traditional ancient Egyptian imagery, such as the figure of the striding god Anubis.

Tapestry weave of dyed wools, plain (tabby) weave ground of dyed wool, fringe of dyed wools along edge of hood and lower edge of tunic, L. 101 cm; W. 89 cm. Egypt, ca. 5th–7th century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of George D. Pratt, New York, 1927 (27.239). This is a typical hooded tunic intended for a child, on which charms were placed to protect the child from the elements and unseen dangers. The medallions on the hood of the tunic, for instance, are composed of concentric circles, a motif intended to repel the evil eye among other perils.

Tapestry weave of dyed wools and undyed (?) wool, plain (tabby) ground weave of undyed linen, H. 29 cm; W. 44 cm. Egypt, ca. 4th–7th century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase by subscription, 1889 (89.18.252). This fragment is made of silk and dyed with Tyrian purple, or Royal purple, or Imperial purple, a rare and expensive dye that was considered a status symbol and restricted for the elite. The use of this dye enhanced the expression of prosperity, and perhaps, its invocation as well.

Tapestry weave of dyed wool and undyed linen, plain (tabby) ground weave of undyed linen, H. 29 cm; W. 31.5 cm. Egypt, ca. 5th–7th century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase by subscription, 1889 (89.18.242). In the decoration of tunics and mantles, images of male virtue drew from the expected motifs of courage and bravery, including the hunt—a common subject on men’s garments—and those associated with strength and courage, such as the image of a warrior featured in the center of this textile fragment.

Tapestry weave of dyed wools and undyed linen, H. 188 cm; W. 93.5 cm. Possibly Egypt, 5th century CE. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Charles Potter Kling Fund, 57.180. This wall hanging presents a servant, the doorkeeper, pulling aside a striped curtain in an arcade. He is notably well dressed: his tunic is apparently of green-gold “shot” silk, and he wears a gold neckpiece. This type of imagery found on wall hangings commented upon the prestige and status of the household.

Tapestry weave of dyed wools and undyed linen, a: H. 103 cm; W. 148.2 cm. b: H. 5.5 cm; W. 15.5 cm. Egypt, ca. 6th–8th century CE. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 46.128a–b. This wall hanging depicts an arcade of three stories or more of servants at work on behalf of the household. They carry flowers, baskets, and chalices piled high with fruit. In the fuller, original composition, these figures may have represented a calendar with personifications of the months, bearing the earth's bounty for each month, thereby ensuring prosperity for the household.

Tapestry weave of dyed wool and linen on plain (tabby) looped ground weave of undyed linen, H. 48.9 cm; W. 45.7 cm. ca. 5th–6th century CE. Byzantine Collection, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, BZ.2010.070. In the center of this panel is a cross, which doubles as an ankh, framed by flowers and baskets of food, representations of abundance and prosperity. The cross sits at the center of an X-shaped cross in black, which seems to sprout from four urns placed between each arm of the cross. This cross too is encircled, then framed, and then framed again in a series of protective layers.