Tapestry Woven Clavus Band
6th-7th century
A haloed and seated anthropomorphized animal, likely a calf, dominates the upper portion of this well-woven clavus band. The evangelist Luke was usually represented by a calf in both early and medieval Christianity, and it is likely that this figure stands in for him. The presence of clavi on tunics tended to illustrate the wearer elevated social status, and the iconography of this band suggests that a wealthy Christian patron would have worn the original garment.
Considering the period’s iconographic ambiguity, it is provocative to imagine that this figure harkens back to a nimbed Serapis, while also evoking the haloed Christian evangelist. Apis was the ancient Egyptian bull god who, under later Hellenic and Roman influence, was anthropomorphized and combined with Osiris to become Serapis. Although his cult was banned by Christian leaders in the late fourth century, it is possible that his imagery lived on in the material memory of late antique Egyptians.
Notably, this fragment was once owned by the legendary actor Zero Mostel, who was known to collect Coptic art. Compare to the similarly patterned, but more intricately designed clavi (BZ.1933.17a–b) in the Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Collection.
Artwork Details
Title:
Tapestry Woven Clavus Band
Date:
6th-7th century
Geography:
Egypt
Classification:
Textile
Materials:
Linen and wool
Dimensions:
42 x 9 cm (16.5 x 3.5 in)
Repository:
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Accession Number:
McMullen 2018.23
Tellalian Number:
Tellalian 1986-00300B
Donor:
Barbara and Donald Tellalian
Provenance:
Purchased at auction, Sotheby's, New York, NY on 24 November 1986. Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art, Lot #193. Previously owned by the estate of Zero Mostel.
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 189. Boston College: McMullen Museum of Art, distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Conservation History:
May 1991: Textile Conservation Center, North Andover, MA.