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Source Description
The rare gold foil and rich purple wool in these two fragments originally enriched a luxurious fabric. Costly gold foil wrapped around a silk core forms the central motif within a diamond, woven in tapestry weave. The surrounding interlacing knot design—achieved with three overlapping squares (in the small fragment) or interlacing squares (in the large fragment)—offered protection from danger and harm. The roundels were woven with extra, or supplementary, linen wefts wrapped on the purple ground. Linen pile loops in the ground fabric resisted abrasion in furnishing fabrics and provided insulation in tunics.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151258
label
Fragments with Gold Foil
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151258
contentType
object
title
Fragments with Gold Foil
description
The rare gold foil and rich purple wool in these two fragments originally enriched a luxurious fabric. Costly gold foil wrapped around a silk core forms the central motif within a diamond, woven in tapestry weave. The surrounding interlacing knot design—achieved with three overlapping squares (in the small fragment) or interlacing squares (in the large fragment)—offered protection from danger and harm. The roundels were woven with extra, or supplementary, linen wefts wrapped on the purple ground. Linen pile loops in the ground fabric resisted abrasion in furnishing fabrics and provided insulation in tunics.
date
300s–400s CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79934474
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Average: 40.8 x 48.4 cm (16 1/16 x 19 1/16 in.)
cul
Egypt, Byzantine period
accession
1983.14
Source extras
tec
undyed linen, dyed wool, and gold foil; plain weave with supplementary weft-loops, slit-tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
tombstone
Fragments with Gold Foil, 300s–400s CE. Egypt, Byzantine period. Undyed linen, dyed wool, and gold foil; plain weave with supplementary weft-loops, slit-tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping; average: 40.8 x 48.4 cm (16 1/16 x 19 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1983.140
collection
T - Coptic
citations
citation
Ball, Jennifer L.. "Charms: Protective and Auspicious Motifs." 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. 61, fig. 1-2.8a-c
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:48:37.207000
sourceId
151258
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
undyed linen, dyed wool, and gold foil; plain weave with supplementary weft-loops, slit-tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
df22b19cc46f1014