Coptic textile fragment, unknown maker from Egypt

Artwork Overview

Coptic textile fragment
Coptic textile fragment
Coptic textile fragment
Coptic period (300 CE–700 CE)
Coptic textile fragment , Coptic period (300 CE–700 CE)
Where object was made: Egypt
Material/technique: wool; linen
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.0135
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Teaching Gallery: Coptic Textiles
In this textile there are three cat heads surrounded by ivy in an architectural structure. Above and in between each cat is a symbol or letter, possibly the Greek letter “PS.” The outer border has conch shells and two crosses. The cats, ivy, and conch shells are associated with the Greek god of wine and fertility, Dionysus whose Roman name is Bacchus. Dionysus’ cult was very popular with Greeks and Romans. Many Coptic textiles include symbols or scenes of Dionysus and his followers.

Exhibitions

Teaching Gallery: Coptic Textiles
Tashia Dare, curator
2012

Citations

The Medieval Collections of the Museum of Art. Lawrence, Kansas: The University of Kansas Museum of Art, 1963.