Fragment of Round Segmentum

Description

Segmentum (medallions) like this decorated tunics in Coptic Egypt. Medallions were woven into a tunic’s shoulders or lower half. This medallion's design scheme displays waves encircling geometric shapes and representational images. It features a cross-legged dancer balanced on a vase with hands raised prayerfully. Other dancers clang cymbals while satyrs frolic below them. Coptic can refer to a language, an ethnic group, a religion, or an artistic style (which wasn’t always Christian). Coptic classical imagery reflects the Hellenized (Greek, 305–30 BC) and Roman cultures of Egypt (30 BC–AD 395) before the Byzantine era.

Provenance

(Mrs. Paul Mallon, Paris, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1982); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1982-)

Fragment of Round Segmentum

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400s–600s CE

Accession Number

1982.271

Medium

Wool: tabby ground, inwoven tapestry ornament

Dimensions

Overall: 33 x 29.2 cm (13 x 11 1/2 in.)

Classification

Textile

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund