Cleveland Museum of Art

Ornament from a Garment

Date

400s–600s CE

Medium

Linen, undyed; wool, dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping

Culture

Egypt, Byzantine period

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Six different designs of leaves and interlacing lines are organized harmoniously here within circles, triangles, and squares. Originally part of a garment, interlacing knot designs were thought to symbolically protect the wearer from harm. The purple color was achieved using red dye made of madder and blue from the indigo plant.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.