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Ornamental Square from a Tunic

400s CE
Linen, undyed; wool, dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
Overall: 21 x 20 cm (8 1/4 x 7 7/8 in.); Mounted: 28.6 x 27.6 cm (11 1/4 x 10 7/8 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1916.1980
Location: 106A Migration Period & Coptic
Public Domain
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Description

Riders dressed in hunting clothes and boots hurl rocks at fleeing lions. The man wears a short tunic and the woman has a fluttering skirt. The border consists of curved acanthus leaves that enclose a chase of alternating lions and hares. This square was sewn onto a tunic rather than woven in. Hunting was a popular artistic theme in pre-Islamic traditions, including Byzantine art, and was then adopted into Islamic art.
Ornamental Square from a Tunic

Ornamental Square from a Tunic

400s CE

Egypt, Byzantine period

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