Fragment with Gold Foil and Apotropaic Interlacing Knots
Unknown Artist
300s–400s CE
Medium
undyed linen, dyed wool, and gold foil; plain weave with supplementary weft-loops, slit-tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
Dimensions
20.4 × 18.5 cm · mounted: 33 × 33 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1983.140.c
About this artwork
The rare gold foil and rich purple wool in these two fragments originally enriched a luxurious fabric. Costly gold foil wrapped around a silk core forms the central motif within a diamond, woven in tapestry weave. The surrounding interlacing knot design—achieved with three overlapping squares (in the small fragment) or interlacing squares (in the large fragment)—offered protection from danger and harm. The roundels were woven with extra, or supplementary, linen wefts wrapped on the purple ground...