Harvard Art Museums > 1916.396: Fragment with Two Vines 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"Fragment with Two Vines , 1916.396,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 24, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/215133. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1916.396 Title Fragment with Two Vines Classification Textile Arts Work Type textile Date 4th-6th century Places Creation Place: Africa, Egypt Period Byzantine period Culture Byzantine Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/215133 Physical Descriptions Medium Linen and wool Technique Woven, tapestry weave Dimensions 12.7 x 58.42 cm (5 x 23 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of DR. D. ROSS Accession Year 1916 Object Number 1916.396 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 Two inwoven tapestry woven bands run across this textile. The bands take the form of thick undulating vines with grape leaves occurring at regular intervals. Each leaf is preceded and followed by two or three grapes. Light dots run along the center of each vine. The tapestry bands are separated by a section of plain woven linen. The linen warps run perpendicular to the direction of the bands. The vines are created with purple wool and undyed linen wefts. The bands are set fairly close together, and so probably do not represent the clavi of a tunic. The textile may come from a furnishing—purple stripes were favorite motifs for furnishing textiles since Greek and Roman times—or another form of garment like a shawl. Furnishings from the domestic environment were often repurposed to wrap a body in a burial, and the staining on this textile confirms this use. Commentary The vine motif is associated with Dionysus and evoked the good life, rebirth, and salvation in Late Antiquity. Dionysiac imagery was appreciated by pagans and Christians alike in the Early Byzantine period. For more on this topic, see Glen Bowersock, “Dionysus and His World,” in Hellenism in Late Antiquity (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1990), pp. 41-53. The use of purple in textiles, whether true purple dye from the murex shellfish or imitations, was meant to signal wealth. Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
