Hanging with Polychrome Columns
This grand hanging is part of a set of at least four that also included depictions of colorful columns topped by heads in medallions. The pieces were excavated from a grave where they had been used as shrouds, but several features indicate that they were originally employed as curtains. Their large scale precludes the function of clothing and the thinness of their material suggests they were meant to be seen from both sides. Depictions of architecture on contemporary mosaics often show curtains hanging between arches, suggesting that the pieces in this set may have been hung one after another in an arcade.
Artwork Details
- Title: Hanging with Polychrome Columns
- Date: 5th–6th century
- Geography: Found Egypt, near Damietta
- Medium: Linen, wool
- Dimensions: Overall: H. 90 1/2 in. (229.9 cm)
W. 61 1/2 in. (156.2 cm)
Mount: H. 93 in. (236.2 cm)
W. 63 in. (160 cm)
D. 3 in. (7.6 cm)
Wt. 220 lb. (99.8 kg) - Classification: Textiles
- Credit Line: Gift of Arthur S. Vernay Inc., 1922
- Object Number: 22.124.4
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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