Curtain Fragment with Galloping Horse

500s CE

Egypt, Antinoë, Byzantine period

Medium

plain weave (tabby) with inwoven slit-tapestry weave; wool

Measurements

Overall: 45.4 x 31.4 cm (17 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.); Mounted: 54 x 41.3 cm (21 1/4 x 16 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1948.27

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Location

Not on view

Description

Framed with hearts this large roundel displays a saddled horse galloping through a landscape, indicated by the stylized tree. The secondary motif of birds, partially visible in the corners, was repeated with the large roundels to form a colorful curtain. The many shades of color were skillfully achieved from only a few dyes, often the most expensive aspect of production: red and pink made from an insect dye, perhaps Armenian cochineal; blue from indigo; yellow and brown from fustic (a type of tree); green from fustic and indigo; and purple (horse’s mane) from the madder plant and indigo.