Piece of Coptic textile with a hunting scene

Almost square piece of textile with a hunting scene inside a medallion. Against a red background, two off-white riders can be made out shooting arrows from bows. Their horses are heading in opposite directions, but both riders have turned their bodies and heads backwards, each taking aim with their bow at one of the four wild beasts in the medallion’s lower section. Both the medallion’s border and the four corners of the textile contain schematic vegetal decoration. The riders’ posture attests to the influence of Sassanid art. While clearly functioning as a portrayal of the much-loved sport of hunting, the scene also serves as a symbolic representation of the struggle against Evil. Textiles of this sort usually come from Egypt, where the climate and dry conditions favour the preservation of such fragile materials.

PUBLICATION
Brouskari E. 2007. Catalogue no. 11, in Skampavias K.—Chatzidakis N. (eds), Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum. Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection, Athens, 26–27.