Harvard Art Museums > 1975.41.9: Roundel: Putto on a Horse Textile Arts Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Roundel: Putto on a Horse , 1975.41.9,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/288638. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1975.41.9 Title Roundel: Putto on a Horse Classification Textile Arts Work Type textile Date 5th-7th century Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient) Period Byzantine period, Early Culture Byzantine Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/288638 Physical Descriptions Medium Wool and linen, tapestry weave Technique Woven, tapestry weave Dimensions actual: 6.5 cm (2 9/16 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of The Hagop Kevorkian Foundation in memory of Hagop Kevorkian Accession Year 1975 Object Number 1975.41.9 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description A figure nude except for flowing cape rides a white horse with its mouth open wide, perhaps whinnying. Red yarn marks out details of the figure's face, hand, and bellybutton against the golden body of the putto. Figure and horse are against indigo background with red border. Slit and interlock tapestry. Strongly eccentric wefts. Several areas of ground fabric survive and are folded underneath the tapestry roundel. Commentary Typically, mounted horsemen woven into clothing were warriors or hunters and had a generally protective, amuletic function as they worked to defend the wearer against evil forces. However, the stumpy proportions of this rider, and his evident nudity reveal that a playful putti/eros is filling in the role of the heroic rider -- an effect that would likely have been humorous to the Byzantine wearer and viewer. Mischievous putti like this one are often featured on domestic objects in the Byzantine world. Publication History Ioli Kalavrezou, Byzantine Women and Their World, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2003), p. 176/fig. 93 Exhibition History Byzantine Women and Their World, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/25/2002 - 04/28/2003 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/28/2017 - 06/20/2018 Subjects and Contexts Collection Highlights Google Art Project Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
