Band with Figures

The central panel of this clavus is filled with a lavishly dressed standing male figure, generally described as a saint because of the halo-like semicircles above his head. Behind each of his shoulders is a single figure whose body is partially obscured. Birds and a floral motif fill the surrounding panel; the same floral motif fills the dangling pendant. A highly stylized rinceaux of a straight stem with lozenge-shaped flowers and square leaves forms the border. The jewel-like colors and geometric forms give the textile its relatively late date. A fragment with identical patterns in the collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris, along with hundreds of fragments with similar figures and motifs preserved in collections throughout the United States and Europe attest to the popularity of this style of tunic decoration during the early Islamic period in Egypt.