Tapestry Band with Hares, Birds, Fruits, and Leaves
5th century
This fragment was probably once part of a tunic, serving as a clavus, a vertical band that would have run as part of a matching pair from the garment’s shoulder to its hemline. The presence of clavi on a tunic indicated the wearer’s elevated or elite social status. This band’s intricate design consists of well-woven, multi-chromatic hares, birds, fruits, and leaves. The fusion of vegetal and animal motifs is a well-known feature of Egyptian textiles from this period, and the acanthus scroll pattern was a common design element found on Greco-Roman Corinthian columns.
Compare this tapestry band to the tunic clavi fragments (BZ.1953.2.7) in the Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Collection. Also compare the red highlights on the birds and hares with the hare’s tongue on McMullen 2018.4 in this collection.
Artwork Details
Title:
Tapestry Band with Hares, Birds, Fruits, and Leaves
Date:
5th century
Geography:
Egypt
Classification:
Textile
Materials:
Linen and wool
Dimensions:
6 x 62 cm (2.5 x 24 in)
Repository:
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accession Number:
McMullen 2018.5
Tellalian Number:
Tellalian 1979-00250/250
Donor:
Barbara and Donald Tellalian
Provenance:
Purchased from Charles Dikran Kelekian, Ancient Arts, New York, NY on 7 June 1979. Provenance unknown prior to Kelekian family.
Exhibition History:
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Beyond the Pharaohs: Egypt and the Copts in the 2nd-7th Centuries, AD, 10 February - 16 April 1989. https://risdmuseum.org/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/beyond-pharaohs. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 17 May - 15 July 1989. McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College. Roman in the Provinces: Art on the Periphery of Empire, 14 February - 31 May 2015. https://www.bc.edu/sites/artmuseum/exhibitions/rip/
Publication History:
Friedman, Florence D. Beyond the Pharaohs: Egypt and the Copts in the 2nd to 7th Centuries AD, plate 185. Providence: Rhode Island School of Design, 1989. Nicgorski, Ann M. “The Fate of Serapis: A Paradigm for Transformations in the Culture and Art of Late Roman Egypt.” In Roman in the Provinces: Art on the Periphery of Empire, edited by Lisa R. Brody and Gail L. Hoffman, 153–66, plate 152. Boston College: McMullen Museum of Art, distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Conservation History:
September 1981: Textile Conservation Center, North Andover, MA.