Fragment of a wall hanging or curtain
Maker: Coptic
Medium:Linen and wool tapestry
Geography: Egypt
Date: 4th-5th century
Period: Late Antique - Early Byzantine
Dimensions:41.5 x 20.5 cm
Object number: 910.125.36
Credit Line: The Walter Massey Collection
DescriptionThis Late Antique textile fragment has a polychrome design consisting of two rows of closed lotus blossoms, carefully shaded from red to white, and a half-leaf border to either side. It perhaps formed part of an arcade framing figures like those of a Dionysian procession. The lotus motif is common in Nilotic imagery and was perhaps a symbol of rebirth (the lotus was observed to close at night and sink underwater only to re-emerge and bloom again the next day).
