Weaver's Shuttle
Unknown Artist
3rd–5th century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Overall: 8 3/16 x 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 in. (20.8 x 6.6 x 3.7 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Miscellany
Culture
Coptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.2.39
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of ancient craftsmanship with the *Weaver's Shuttle*, a humble remarkable wooden tool from Coptic Egypt, dating to the 3rd–5th century. Craft by an unknown artisan, this compact piece—measuring just 8 3/16 x 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 inches—served as an essential implement in textile production, shuttling threads across looms to create the fine linens and fabrics that defined daily life and trade in the Nile Valley. In Coptic culture, which flourished as Christianity took root in late antique Egypt, such woodwork offers a rare glimpse into everyday routines amid a blend of pharaonic ...