Fragment Depicting a Mounted Rider
Byzantine
301–499
- Medium
- Linen and wool, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with eccentric wefts and supplementary wrapping weft details; edged by plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming uncut loop pile
- Dimensions
- 59.2 × 51 cm (23 1/4 × 20 1/8 in.)
- Genre
- textile
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
roman period (egyptian)wool (textile)slit tapestry weavingdove-tailed tapestry weavelinenmedallionsbyzantineanimalsridercoptic (historically identified as)tapestry weavingTextileweavinghorseplain weaving
About
This fragment of a larger furnishing textile may have covered a bed or a sofa. The purple square, carefully woven with a tapestry technique, features contemporary imagery related to hunting, with a central rider on horseback encircled by medallions of vegetation and animals. The complete piece, comprised largely of loop pile weave, would have functioned as padding to create a soft surface. The inclusion of such a detailed tapestry design demonstrates that even an object made for comfort could also introduce rich and colorful adornment into the home.
