Brown and Red-Purple Wool Sleeve Decoration A
7th century
This sleeve decoration is (along with McMullen 2018.19.2) one of two matching fragments in the collection from the same tunic. Both decorations are long rectangles consisting of brown and purple threads. The interior purple panels display connected medallions with alternating abstractions of rabbits and humans.
These decorations were part of the same tunic that bore the two Square Decorative Panels in this collection (McMullen 2018.20.1 and McMullen 2018.20.2). On decorative tunics from this period, sleeve decorations most frequently wrapped around the arm band, matching the style, iconography, and color of the decorative panels. It is possible that now-lost vertical bands, known as clavi (such as McMullen 2018.23) would have run from the tunic’s shoulder to its hemline. If clavi were present, the person who wore this tunic would have likely been of a higher social status. The purple coloring—the rarest and most elite of dyes—almost certainly indicates that this tunic belonged to someone of a higher social status, despite the relatively rudimentary patterning.
Artwork Details
Title:
Brown and Red-Purple Wool Sleeve Decoration A
Date:
7th century
Geography:
Egypt
Classification:
Textile
Materials:
Linen and wool
Dimensions:
10 x 32 cm (4 x 12.5 in)
Repository:
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accession Number:
McMullen 2018.19.1
Tellalian Number:
Tellalian 1984-00150A-1
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:
No known exhibition history
Publication History:
No known publication history
Conservation History:
No known conservation history