Mae Festa 50 Years of Collecting Textiles - Peter Pap Oriental Rugs

AFRICA – Egypt
Decorative Band Fragment (Tiraz )
11 th Century
Fatimid
Tapestry weave, interlocked, with eccentric
wefting; alternating blue and white cotton warp
bands. Blue, black, red, yellow and white silk.
9 x 10 cm 3½ x 4 in
An elaborate interlace strapwork characteristic of the
finest extant costumes of this period. Interstitial spaces
contain confronted and addorsed pairs of doves and other
motifs. The availability of silk in the late antique and
Islamic period enabled the production of such refined
textiles, which spell the end of what has been termed the
“Coptic” tradition.
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