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Source Description
Featuring imperial Byzantine themes, this rare roundel originally decorated a tunic. Genii (guardian spirits) crown the mounted horseman in military dress while an animal runs below. The inscription at the top identifies the horseman as Alexander the Great (356-323 bc), a popular cult figure in Egypt for centuries. The pattern’s mirror-image symmetry indicates the influence of costlier Byzantine silks.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
135578
label
Alexander the Great on Horseback
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
135578
contentType
object
title
Alexander the Great on Horseback
description
Featuring imperial Byzantine themes, this rare roundel originally decorated a tunic. Genii (guardian spirits) crown the mounted horseman in military dress while an animal runs below. The inscription at the top identifies the horseman as Alexander the Great (356-323 bc), a popular cult figure in Egypt for centuries. The pattern’s mirror-image symmetry indicates the influence of costlier Byzantine silks.
date
700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80028964
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 30.5 x 24.8 cm (12 x 9 3/4 in.); Mounted: 41.9 x 36.8 cm (16 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.)
cul
Egypt, Umayyad period (661–750) or Abbasid period (750–1258)
accession
1959.123
Source extras
tec
dyed wool, undyed linen; plain weave and slit-tapestry weave
tombstone
Alexander the Great on Horseback, 700s. Egypt, Umayyad period (661–750) or Abbasid period (750–1258). Dyed wool, undyed linen; plain weave and slit-tapestry weave; overall: 30.5 x 24.8 cm (12 x 9 3/4 in.); mounted: 41.9 x 36.8 cm (16 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Textile Arts Club, 1959.123
collection
T - Coptic
inscriptions
inscription
partial inscription in Greek above.
citations
citation
S. E. L. "Year in Review." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 46, no. 10 (1959): 210-31.
page_number
p. 213 illus
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25142366.
citation
Shepherd, Dorothy G. "Alexander: The Victorious Emperor." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 58, no. 8 (1971): 244-50.
page_number
p. 244-50
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25152395
citation
Wardwell, Anne E. Material Matters: Fifty Years of Gifts from the Textile Arts Club, 1934-1984 : [Exhibition] 21 November-30 December 1984, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum, 1984.
page_number
p. 12
citation
Neils, Jenifer. “The Twain Shall Meet.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 72, no. 6, 1985, pp. 326–359.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 329, fig. 5
creditline
Gift of The Textile Arts Club
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:55:45.659000
sourceId
135578
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
dyed wool, undyed linen; plain weave and slit-tapestry weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c7d4f062e1be60a3