COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1980.31
AMICA Library Year:
2003
Object Type:
Textiles
Creator Nationality:
Egypt, Antinoë, Byzantine period, late 6th century
Creator Name-CRT:
Egypt, Antinoë, Byzantine period, late 6th century
Title:
Curtain Fragment with Panthers
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
500s
Creation Start Date:
500
Creation End Date:
599
Materials and Techniques:
slit-tapestry weave; dyed wool, undyed linen
Classification Term:
Textile
Style or Period:
Egypt, Antinoë, Byzantine period, late 6th century
Dimensions:
Overall: 76.2cm x 54.6cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1980.31
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Provenance:
Mrs. Paul Mallon, Paris.
Context:
Luxurious tapestry-woven curtains decorated with colorful figures and flora were hung in religious, palatial, and theatrical settings. Often, as here, red forms the background of the main field framed by a blue border. Lively cheetahs or panthers wearing collars appear among alternating stylized rosettes and floral roundels, which frame birds on the red ground. In the border, pairs of masks and birds alternate. Cheetahs were favored for hunting, suggested here by the collars and, in one case, a harness. Panthers, on the other hand, were associated with Dionysus, Greek god of wine, who was admired by Egyptians of all religions through the 6th century AD.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1980.31.tif
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