The brilliantly colored, painterly depiction of a blue bird and a basket of grapes is typical of the figural naturalism of the late Greco-Roman period. Originally part of a series of decorated bands composing a wall hanging or curtain, this piece probably was used in a domestic setting. Thought to have been woven at Herakleia in Anatolia, it is evidence of the importation of exceptional fabrics into Egypt.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Hanging Fragment with Bird and Basket
Date:4th century
Geography:Found/excavated Egypt
Medium:Wool, linen; tapestry weave
Dimensions:Max. H. 25 1/4 in. (64 cm) Max. W. 19 3/4 in. (50 cm)
Classification:Textiles
Credit Line:Gift of George F. Baker, 1890
Accession Number:90.5.153
Hanging Fragment with Bird and Basket
This fragment with its brilliantly colored, painterly depiction of a blue bird and basket of grapes was originally part of a series of decorated bands on a wall hanging or curtain that was probably used in a domestic setting. It was found in Egypt, though apparently made at a textile center elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean; another fragment of the same curtain is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
[Stauffer 1995]
Emil Brugsch-Bey, Cairo (until 1890; sold to Baker); George F. Baker, New York (1890; gifted to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Textiles of Late Antiquity," December 14, 1995–April 7, 1996, no. 48.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Panopolis and Classical Themes," November 1, 2000–December 1, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Panopolis and Classical Themes," December 6, 2005–September 24, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from the George F. Baker Gift, 1890," June 13, 2011–August 5, 2012.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Good Life: Collecting Late Antique Art at The Met," May 24, 2021–May 7, 2023.
Stauffer, Annmarie. Textiles of Late Antiquity. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. no. 48, pp. 21, 47, ill. p. 21 (color).
Evans, Helen C. "The Arts of Byzantium." Metropolitan Museum of Arts Bulletin (2001). p. 25, ill. (color).
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