Woven Textile Fragment, Likely from a Tunic

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Woven Textile Fragment, Likely from a Tunic

Place of OriginEgypt

Date6th-8th century CE

DimensionsH: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm); W: 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)

MediumTapestry-woven textile (wool?), dyed in black, brown, and red.

ClassificationTextiles and Fiber

Credit LineGift of Georges-Henri Riviere

Object number

1930.201

Not on View

DescriptionThis textile fragment features a standing figure dressed in a finely woven garment, possibly a monastic tunic, as indicated by the zone or belt. The figure’s clothing appears to bear cross motifs, and a halo (?) marks him as spiritually significant. Though his exact gesture is unclear, he is set within a paradisiacal scene, surrounded by floral elements. Likely part of a tunic or furnishing textile, this piece reflects the vibrant tradition of religious imagery in Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt.

Label TextThis small Coptic textile fragment, woven in Egypt between the 6th and 8th centuries, arrived at the Toledo Museum of Art in 1930 through an unexpected path—shaped by museum politics, personal ambition, and a brief marriage. It was gifted by Georges-Henri Rivière, a pioneering French museologist, during his short-lived marriage to Nina Spalding Stevens, the wealthy widow of TMA’s first director and a trailblazing curator. Stevens, known for her efforts to bring non-Western art to American museums, met Rivière in 1927 while organizing a major Pre-Columbian art exhibition in Toledo. Their 1929 marriage was reportedly one of convenience—he, a gay man, sought financial security and U.S. museum connections, while she hoped to gain influence in Paris. The Coptic textile, likely acquired through the thriving Parisian antiquities market, was one of the objects exchanged in their transatlantic cultural alliance.Exhibition HistoryThe Dayton Art Institute, The Roman World: Religions and Everyday Life (featuring the Brooklyn Museum Exhibition: Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire), September 21, 2007 - January 6, 2008 (no catalogue).