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Source Description
This large panel conveys merrymaking, wealth, and power through its symbolic imagery and deep purple color. It was originally part of a luxurious wide curtain with similar panels alternating with plain linen panels. Although woven in Christian Egypt, the panel is dominated by pagan subjects. A nude male stands beside a dancing female in transparent clothing in each of the three squares, alternating with centaurs (half-man, half-horse creatures) in roundels. In the central square, Dionysus, the god of wine, holds a grapevine and a weary Hercules leans on his club below. The lively animal imagery conveys wealth because few could afford animals such as lions, bulls, and hares.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
161684
label
Curtain Panel with Scenes of Merrymaking
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
161684
contentType
object
title
Curtain Panel with Scenes of Merrymaking
description
This large panel conveys merrymaking, wealth, and power through its symbolic imagery and deep purple color. It was originally part of a luxurious wide curtain with similar panels alternating with plain linen panels. Although woven in Christian Egypt, the panel is dominated by pagan subjects. A nude male stands beside a dancing female in transparent clothing in each of the three squares, alternating with centaurs (half-man, half-horse creatures) in roundels. In the central square, Dionysus, the god of wine, holds a grapevine and a weary Hercules leans on his club below. The lively animal imagery conveys wealth because few could afford animals such as lions, bulls, and hares.
date
500s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79984721
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 144.2 x 57.1 cm (56 3/4 x 22 1/2 in.); Mounted: 153.7 x 66 x 3.2 cm (60 1/2 x 26 x 1 1/4 in.)
cul
Egypt, Byzantine period
accession
2000.5
Source extras
tec
Linen, undyed; wool: dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
tombstone
Curtain Panel with Scenes of Merrymaking, 500s. Egypt, Byzantine period. Linen, undyed; wool: dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping; overall: 144.2 x 57.1 cm (56 3/4 x 22 1/2 in.); mounted: 153.7 x 66 x 3.2 cm (60 1/2 x 26 x 1 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund and Gift of the Textile Art Alliance in memory of Robert P. Bergman, 2000.5
collection
T - Coptic
didYouKnow
The textile industry drove the Egyptian economy, dominated by the flax plant from which linen is derived.
citations
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” March 17, 2000, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 2
citation
Mackie, Louise W. "A Coptic Curtain." <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 40, no. 10 (December 2000): 4-5.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 4-5
citation
Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. <em>The Middle Ages in 50 Objects</em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 60-63; Reproduced: p. 61
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund and Gift of the Textile Art Alliance in memory of Robert P. Bergman
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:24:19.165000
sourceId
161684
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
Linen, undyed; wool: dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f006b1f0a4215cfe