The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of March 25, 2025
Ornamental Square from a Tunic
400s
Overall: 16.5 x 16.2 cm (6 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.); Mounted: 24.1 x 23.8 cm (9 1/2 x 9 3/8 in.)
Location: 106A Migration Period & Coptic
Description
This mythological scene of the first labor of Hercules––capturing the Nemean lion––originally decorated the front, back, or shoulder of a unisex linen tunic. Hercules was tasked with performing 12 labors as penance for slaying his own wife and children. Here he carries a club with a lion skin slung over his shoulder, serving as impenetrable armor. His companion, Iolaus, carries his bow and quiver on the right. The small figure in the center is unidentified. Knotted ornaments fill the corners, surrounded by a broad purple border edged with a running wave motif.- Mrs. Paul Mallon, Paris.
- Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 13, 2023-November 10, 2024).Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 12, 2016-May 22, 2017).Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 4, 2011-May 21, 2012).Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 2001-October 15, 2002).The Year in Review for 1982. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983).
- {{cite web|title=Ornamental Square from a Tunic|url=false|author=|year=400s|access-date=25 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.80