Cleveland Museum of Art

Roundel with curvilinear palmette tree, from a tunic

Date

600–850

Medium

Silk; complementary weft-faced twill weave with inner warps (samite)

Culture

Egypt or Syria(?)

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Originally, roundels like this were cut and sewn onto the front and back of a tunic, probably linen, in Egypt. They belong to a sizeable group of comparable silk decorations found in Akhmim, Egypt. In each roundel, a stylized palmette tree is enclosed within a simplified lotus border that evolved from an ancient Egyptian lotus motif. This elaborate pattern was woven on a large, early loom known as a drawloom that automatically repeated designs across the width of the fabric.

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