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Source Description
This weaving depicts a haloed man and woman. However, it once had a third figure at left. The textile was damaged before its 1979 acquisition; only the third figure’s partial halo and shoes remained. Staff decided to “close the gap” around the missing area and remove the shoes. While creating a “complete” image, that removal affects our ability to understand the weaving’s subject. Many questions remain: Who are the man and woman? His red cap may identify him as an “Easterner” or a freeman. Who was their missing companion? Continuing research will consider biblical and Greek mythological stories in which threads play a role.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
149666
label
Two Figures Framed by a Jeweled Border
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
149666
contentType
object
title
Two Figures Framed by a Jeweled Border
description
This weaving depicts a haloed man and woman. However, it once had a third figure at left. The textile was damaged before its 1979 acquisition; only the third figure’s partial halo and shoes remained. Staff decided to “close the gap” around the missing area and remove the shoes. While creating a “complete” image, that removal affects our ability to understand the weaving’s subject. Many questions remain: Who are the man and woman? His red cap may identify him as an “Easterner” or a freeman. Who was their missing companion? Continuing research will consider biblical and Greek mythological stories in which threads play a role.
date
450–550 CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60758872
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 24.1 x 28.6 cm (9 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.); Mounted: 33 x 37.5 cm (13 x 14 3/4 in.)
cul
Byzantine Empire (Egypt)
accession
1979.58
Source extras
tec
wool, linen, and dye
tombstone
Two Figures Framed by a Jeweled Border, 450–550 CE. Byzantine Empire (Egypt). Wool, linen, and dye; overall: 24.1 x 28.6 cm (9 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.); mounted: 33 x 37.5 cm (13 x 14 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1979.58
collection
T - Coptic
citations
citation
Thomas, Thelma K., Jennifer Ball, Edward Bleiberg, Kathrin Colburn, Helen C. Evans, Christine Kondoleon, Brandie Ratliff, and Elizabeth Dospel Williams. Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. 2016.
page_number
24
citation
Thomas, Thelma K. "Material Meaning in Late Antiquity." In <em>Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. </em>Thelma K. Thomas, ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 24, fig. 1-1.4
creditline
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:42:46.916000
sourceId
149666
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
wool, linen, and dye
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b2f4d978029fafd4