Polychrome Tapestry Square with Human Busts
5th-6th century
Composed in a classic red-green-yellow color scheme, this tapestry centers on a tree with a bird sitting in its branches, flanked by two ambiguously humanoid creatures. The busts of four wide-eyed human figures stand in the composition’s corners, and a wave-like pattern forms the fragment’s outer border. This square was possibly one of two matching tabulae that would have been woven into the lower front section of a tunic, akin to McMullen 2018.20.1 and McMullen 2018.20.2 in this collection.
Compare the tree-and-bird motif with the central roundel of McMullen 2018.16 in this collection.
Artwork Details
Title:
Polychrome Tapestry Square with Human Busts
Date:
5th-6th century
Geography:
Egypt
Classification:
Textile
Materials:
Linen and wool
Dimensions:
26 x 24 cm (10.25 x 9.5 in)
Repository:
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accession Number:
McMullen 2018.17
Tellalian Number:
Tellalian 1984-00500B
Donor:
Barbara and Donald Tellalian
Provenance:
Purchased from Nanette R. Kelekian on 24 March 1984. Previously in possession of Charles Dikran Kelekian, Ancient Arts, New York, NY. Provenance unknown prior to Kelekian family.
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 143. Boston College: McMullen Museum of Art, distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Conservation History:
November 1990: Textile Conservation Center, North Andover, MA.