Fragment, Sleeve Ornament from a Tunic
Unknown Artist
500s - early 600s
Medium
tapestry (probably originally inwoven in tabby ground); wool
Dimensions
21.6 × 20.6 cm · mounted: 29.8 × 28.6 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of George D. Pratt
Accession Number
1926.155.a
About this artwork
This fragment originally decorated a tunic, the prevalent garment worn by adults and children around the Byzantine Mediterranean. Six square panels feature stylized human figures in various states of movement. With baskets and vessels in hand, they sit, stand, and leap within the scenes. Separating the square panels in the middle, two decorative bands depict alternating stylized figural busts, birds, baskets, and vegetal motifs. Tunic decoration such as this provided wearers a way to express the...