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Fragment Depicting a Mounted Rider

A work made of linen and wool, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with eccentric wefts and supplementary wrapping weft details; edged by plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming uncut loop pile.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of linen and wool, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with eccentric wefts and supplementary wrapping weft details; edged by plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming uncut loop pile.

Date:

4th-5th century

Artist:

Egypt

About this artwork

This fragment of a larger furnishing textile may have covered a bed or a sofa. The purple square, carefully woven with a tapestry technique, features contemporary imagery related to hunting, with a central rider on horseback encircled by medallions of vegetation and animals. The complete piece, comprised largely of loop pile weave, would have functioned as padding to create a soft surface. The inclusion of such a detailed tapestry design demonstrates that even an object made for comfort could also introduce rich and colorful adornment into the home.

Status

On View, Gallery 153

Department

Textiles

Culture

Byzantine

Title

Fragment Depicting a Mounted Rider

Place

Egypt (Object made in:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 301 CE–499 CE

Medium

Linen and wool, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with eccentric wefts and supplementary wrapping weft details; edged by plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming uncut loop pile

Dimensions

59.2 × 51 cm (23 1/4 × 20 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson through the Antiquarian Society

Reference Number

1921.43

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/80385/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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