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Source Description
The brilliant colors and complex design of this panel, likely one of several forming a tapestry, testify to its makers’ skill. Vines and birds frame a nereid, a mermaidlike mythological creature, against a dark blue ground. The weaver has aligned different-colored threads to create shading and special details. Blue threads representing water are integrated into the weaving of the glass bowl. Alternating pink and blue threads combine to create a smoky effect around the nereid’s eyes. Small spots across the surface are stable organic spores and fortunately do not affect the condition of this millennia-old textile.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
130419
label
Nereid (Sea-Nymph) from a Hanging
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
130419
contentType
object
title
Nereid (Sea-Nymph) from a Hanging
description
The brilliant colors and complex design of this panel, likely one of several forming a tapestry, testify to its makers’ skill. Vines and birds frame a nereid, a mermaidlike mythological creature, against a dark blue ground. The weaver has aligned different-colored threads to create shading and special details. Blue threads representing water are integrated into the weaving of the glass bowl. Alternating pink and blue threads combine to create a smoky effect around the nereid’s eyes. Small spots across the surface are stable organic spores and fortunately do not affect the condition of this millennia-old textile.
date
late 300s–400s CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757500
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 66.7 x 65.4 cm (26 1/4 x 25 3/4 in.); Mounted: 76.8 x 75.6 x 2.9 cm (30 1/4 x 29 3/4 x 1 1/8 in.)
cul
Byzantine Empire (Egypt)
accession
1953.18
Source extras
tec
dyed wool, undyed linen
tombstone
Nereid (Sea-Nymph) from a Hanging, late 300s–400s CE. Byzantine Empire (Egypt). Dyed wool, undyed linen; overall: 66.7 x 65.4 cm (26 1/4 x 25 3/4 in.); mounted: 76.8 x 75.6 x 2.9 cm (30 1/4 x 29 3/4 x 1 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1953.18
collection
T - Coptic
didYouKnow
Look closely at the eyeliner beneath the eye: it is formed by mixing two colors of thread, pink and blue.
citations
citation
"Art and Archaeology at the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Archaeology</em> 6, no. 4 (1953): 195-202.
page_number
p. 199, cover illus
url
www.jstor.org/stable/41663172.
citation
Shepherd, Dorothy G. "A Late Hellenistic Tapestry from Egypt." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 41, no. 1 (January 1954), pp. 4–6.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 4–6
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. 65
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and William Mathewson Milliken. The Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1958.
page_number
p. 7
citation
Kunsthaus Zürich. Christentum am Nil; Koptische Kunst; Nachtrag. 1963.
page_number
pl. VI, no. 242
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. 30
citation
Bourguet, R. du. 1966. "La technique des étoffes coptes en rapport avec leur dotation". Bulletin De Liaison Du Centre International D'études Des Textiles Anciens. 17-30.
page_number
p. 17
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. 30
citation
Volbach, Wolfgang Fritz, and Jüri Gabriel. Early Decorative Textiles. London: Hamlyn, 1974.
page_number
pl. 9
citation
Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan. <em>Masterpieces of World Art from American Museums from Ancient Egyptian to Contemporary Art</em>. Tokyo: National Museum of Western Art, 1976.
page_number
Cat. No. 6
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. 36
citation
Rutschowscaya, Marie-Hélène. Coptic Fabrics. Paris, France: Adam Biro, 1990.
page_number
p. 71
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:44:33.403000
sourceId
130419
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
dyed wool, undyed linen
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a05f118ef7a1d8b7