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Egyptian Coptic Textile Fragment with Warrior & Lion browse these categories for related items... All Items: Egyptian: Coptic: Pre AD 1000: item #642083
$150 |
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This is a fragment of a very popular style of Coptic tunic from the sixth century A.D. Tunics from this period featured stripes called clavi, which crossed over the shoulders from hem to hem. (Think of a tunic as a T-shirt; the two clavi were vertical strips that ran up the front and back of the tunic in a similar position that a pair of modern suspenders would sit.) This style of clavicus shows alternating images of warriors/hunters with images of lions. The warriors are nude save for sword belts, with their right hands held in the air. Their nudity in this context signifies that their battle is one of the spirit, a fight with the bestial side of their nature, symbolized here by the lions. The lions are set at right angles to the ground line of the warriors, which is probably a technical concession to the limitations of the early drawlooms on which this pattern was first created. See Carroll, "Looms and Textiles of the Copts," nos. 25 & 32 for later examples of the type.
Tradition dictates that the Coptic Church in Egypt is based upon the teachings of St. Mark, one of the original disciples who supposedly visited Egypt around 50 A.D. Christianity took hold easily in Egypt, largely as a result of existing Egyptian religious beliefs that meshed well with Christian doctrine (e.g., the resurrection of Osiris and the holy trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus). The Coptic Church was more or less exiled from the Western Christian church due to its emphasis on monastic living and especially due to its belief in monophysitism, the notion that Christ's human and divine natures should be considered one inseparable, perfect union, "the nature of the incarnate word." This stood in sharp contrast to the traditional belief that Christ's human self and divine self are distinctive. The Coptic Church thrived in Egypt for centuries, even under Arab rule, as the Prophet's only childbearing wife was a Copt and pleaded with her husband to show kindness to her people. However, by the end of the 12th Century AD, Egypt had become primarily Muslim. Despite this conversion, the Coptic church still exists today with a large membership in modern Egypt. AGE: Sixth century A.D. CONDITION: Fragmentary as shown, but this is a sophisticated example of this very popular motif. The warrior in particular is very well-done for the type. This piece includes the illustrated 12" x 8" Riker case for display DIMENSIONS: 9.25" long and 3.25" wide (23.5 cm x 8.3 cm) |
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