Cleveland Museum of Art

Sleeve from a Tunic

Date

700s

Medium

wool; plain weave with slit-tapestry weave

Culture

Egypt, Umayyad period (661–750) or Abbasid period (750–1258)

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Figures and winged animals from ancient Greece and Rome remained popular during the early Islamic period of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The naked figure could represent Dionysus, the Greek god of wine; he holds his thyrsus, a staff decorated with ivy leaves and pinecones, while pouring liquid from a small jug for the panther. These colorful designs probably adorned the sleeve and front or back of a tunic, a garment worn directly on the body for over 1,000 years, from Roman antiquity to the Middle Ages. Popular decorations were regularly reused and sewn onto new tunics, as can be seen on this winter garment made of wool.

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