Issue 2, 2024


O. V. Orfinskaya, O. V. Osharina

Rekonstruktsiia shelkovoi tkani s nil'skimi stsenami iz sobraniia Ermitazha [Reconstruction of a silk fabric with Nilotic scenes from the collection of the Hermitage]



In 1897‒1898, the Hermitage supplemented collection of Coptic textiles received four silk fragments of fabrics brought by V. G. Bock from Egypt. For a long time the subject of these pieces remained obscure. The article presents the reconstruction of the design and the pattern, based on a thorough study of the fragments and their analogies. The tapestry technique with silk weft and the iconography of the fragments suggest that the work was performed in the ancient textile centre of Egypt — the city of Ahmim in the 8th‒9th centuries. The excellent quality of the woven strip indicates that these silk claves were very expensive as they were usually produced for rather wealthy customers. Based on the analogies, it can be assumed that several sets of such pattern were made.

Keywords:
Byzantine period, Egypt, fabrics, tapestry weaving, fashion design, pheasant.

Original language — Russian.

DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00007.

Referring: Orfinskaya O. V., Osharina O. V. Reconstruction of a silk fabric with Nilotic scenes from the collection of the Hermitage [in Russian] // Egypt and neighbouring countries 2 (2024): 16–46. DOI: 10.24412/2686-9276-2024-00007.

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