Harvard Art Museums > 2002.318.12: Fragment with Crux Ansata and Inscription 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 Crux Ansata and Inscription , 2002.318.12,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/315207. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2002.318.12 Title Fragment with Crux Ansata and Inscription Classification Textile Arts Work Type textile Date 5th-6th century Places Creation Place: Africa, Egypt Period Byzantine period, Early Culture Byzantine Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/315207 Physical Descriptions Medium Linen and wool, tapestry woven Technique Woven, mixed technique Inscriptions and Marks inscription: ΕϹΘ... Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Carroll F. Wales Accession Year 2002 Object Number 2002.318.12 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 Crux ansata/ankh and partial Greek inscription tapestry woven in colored wool. Letters present are eta, lunate sigma, theta, (omicron?)... This is mostly likely a votive inscription requesting protection for particular individual(s). The crux ansata is a symbol adopted early by Christians in Egypt, primarily because of the ancient Egyptian ankh’s meaning ‘life.’ This crux ansata is white with an indigo border and has flared ends; its loop is filled in with yellow around an indigo dot. The symbol is surrounded by red dots. The letters are alternately red and indigo, with white centers. Areas of interlock tapestry in the letters keep the slits around them closed. The white fill in the letters is created by supplementary weft wrapping (flying shuttle), as is the white and yellow within the crux ansata. A buff tabby background surrounds the inscription. Strongly eccentric wefts are visible around the letters. Commentary Crux ansatae can also be found on Harvard’s 1975.41.28. For their use in Egypt, see Gillian E. Bowen's “The Crux Ansata in Early Christian Iconography: The Evidence from Dakhleh and Kharga Oases.” In Le myrte et la rose: Mélanges offerts à Françoise Dunand par ses élèves, collègues et amis, 291-. Edited by Gaëlle Tallet et Christiane Zivie-Coche. Montpellier: Université de Paul Valéry, 2014. 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
