Cleveland Museum of Art

Human Head from a Large Curtain

Date

300s CE

Medium

tapestry weave, wool

Culture

Egypt, Byzantine period

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Distinguished by a halo, this unidentified person wears a jeweled cap encrusted with pearls alternating with other gems, possibly emeralds. The cap is similar to what the Greeks called a Phyrgian cap, worn by people from Central Asia. The fragment originally belonged to an all-woolen curtain or hanging. Fabrics woven entirely with wool were the most costly and admired.

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