Fragment of Coptic fabric

Among the oldest preserved fabrics in the collections of the National Museum of Slovenia are picturesque fragments of cloth made by the Copts (Christian inhabitants of Egypt). Many Coptic fabrics have survived thanks to the Coptic custom of burying the dead with goods, which the dry climate preserved in graves and tombs. The materials were mainly linen or wool, typified by vivid colours. Curtains, covers and cushions, in addition to clothing, have thus survived, and these fabrics in particular (which are among the most expressive elements of Coptic art) reflect a mixing of the local Egyptian tradition and Greco-Roman civilisation with new elements of Christianity. Coptic art is characterised by a stress on ornamented, stylised human figures and a depiction of the landscape beside the Nile. The museum collection of fifty two fragments of Coptic fabric from between the third to tenth centuries AD covers mainly woollen insets in linen goods, in the form of stripes (clavus), leaves (bulla), circles (orbiculus) and squares (tabula), which are richly decorated with geometric, plant and animal ornaments or human figures. Smaller square panels decorated tunics, a number of larger ones together could be found on covers, while as a central independent motif they appear only on cushions. Often, as also on this fragment, a circle with a figure is outlined within the square, and there are human or animal images in corner medallions. The space between them is decorated by vessels or baskets with fruit, as symbols of abundance. A popular central motif were birds, such as peacocks; the bird on the fragment illustrated is most reminiscent of a duck, which appears as a symbol of immortality. The motif is woven in shades of dark violet, red, yellow, orange, green and blue.