Tunic Fragment A
7th-8th century
This fragment, along with McMullen 2018.10.2, is one of two matching fragments from the same tunic.
Unlike the single clavus band of McMullen 2018.23, these fragments preserve both sets of clavi bands, with their attached medallions. As with McMullen 2018.5, the presence of such bands on a tunic would have indicated the wearer’s elevated social status. The intricate weaving of these two fragments suggest someone of particularly elite status might have worn this garment, and the cruciform patterns throughout the design, alongside the traditional animal and vegetal motifs, point towards a possible Christian influence.
Compare this possibly Christian tunic with the similarly colored and styled, but definitely Dionysian/Bacchic tunic (26.9.8) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Artwork Details
Title:
Tunic Fragment A
Date:
7th-8th century
Geography:
Egypt
Classification:
Textile
Materials:
Linen and wool
Dimensions:
44.5 x 43 cm (17.5 x 17 in)
Repository:
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accession Number:
McMullen 2018.10.1
Tellalian Number:
Tellalian 1981-01200
Donor:
Barbara and Donald Tellalian
Provenance:
Purchased from Paul Bernheimer, Bernheimers' Antique Arts, Cambridge, MA on 19 December 1981. Provenance unknown prior to Bernheimer.
Exhibition History:
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:
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 183. Boston College: McMullen Museum of Art, distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Conservation History:
Unknown month, 1982: Textile Conservation Center, North Andover, MA.