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Source Description
This hanging textile features biblical scenes that early Christian people would have recognized. At left, the upper register shows the Virgin Mary and Christ child on a cross-legged stool. As a Coptic inscription indicates, the three kings approach from the right, carrying gifts. The middle register on the left may depict the baptism of Christ while the other three figures separated by columns appear to illustrate a New Testament miracle in which Christ feeds a large crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish. In the lower register, the Old Testament scene of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale is still recognizable.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
128462
label
Resist-Dyed Hanging with Biblical Scenes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
128462
contentType
object
title
Resist-Dyed Hanging with Biblical Scenes
description
This hanging textile features biblical scenes that early Christian people would have recognized. At left, the upper register shows the Virgin Mary and Christ child on a cross-legged stool. As a Coptic inscription indicates, the three kings approach from the right, carrying gifts. The middle register on the left may depict the baptism of Christ while the other three figures separated by columns appear to illustrate a New Testament miracle in which Christ feeds a large crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish. In the lower register, the Old Testament scene of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale is still recognizable.
date
500–550
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60762722
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 99.7 x 104.8 cm (39 1/4 x 41 1/4 in.); Mounted: 111.1 x 114.3 x 2.5 cm (43 3/4 x 45 x 1 in.)
cul
Egypt, Byzantine period
accession
1951.4
Source extras
tec
linen: resist-dyed, plain weave
tombstone
Resist-Dyed Hanging with Biblical Scenes, 500–550. Egypt, Byzantine period. Linen: resist-dyed, plain weave; overall: 99.7 x 104.8 cm (39 1/4 x 41 1/4 in.); mounted: 111.1 x 114.3 x 2.5 cm (43 3/4 x 45 x 1 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1951.400
collection
T - Coptic
inscriptions
inscription
Greek inscriptions identify the various scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Above the first of the Magi in the upper register can be seen the two letters "XP" from the Greek work for gold. At the left of the middle register are two figures, the first almost destroyed and the second identified by the inscription, "EIWANNHC," as John. In the lower register is a portrayal of Jonah thrown up on the shore with the big fish beside him and accompanied by the inscription, "EIWNAC." Moses, almost completely destroyed, is only identifiable by his inscription, "MWCHC."
citations
citation
Shepherd, Dorothy G. "An Egyptian Textile from the Early Christian Period." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 39, no. 4 (1952): 66-75.
page_number
p. 66-8
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25141787.
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 73
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 32
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 38
citation
Katzenberg, Dena S. <em>Blue Traditions; Indigo Dyed Textiles and Related Cobalt Glazed Ceramics from the 17th Through the 19th Centur</em>y. [Baltimore]: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1973.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. no. 1, p. 118; Reproduced: cat. no. 1, p. 49
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 39
citation
Weitzmann, Kurt, and Hans-Georg Beck. <em>Age of Spirituality: A Symposium</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980.
page_number
cat. no. 390, p. 433
citation
Kajitani, Nobuko 梶谷宣子.<em> Koputo gire</em> [コプト裂 = Coptic Fabrics]. Kyōto: Kyōto Shoin, 1981.
page_number
pl. 45, p. 35
citation
Williams, Elizabeth Dospěl. "Sacred Imagery." In <em>Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt, </em>63-68. Washington: The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, 2019.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 67, fig.16
citation
Blessing, Patricia, Elizabeth Dospěl Williams, and Eiren L. Shea. <em>Medieval Textiles Across Eurasia, C. 300-1400.</em> Cambridge, United Kingdom; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 12; Reproduced: p. 15, fig. 13
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:37:48.854000
sourceId
128462
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
linen: resist-dyed, plain weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3216898c41e05fc9