Romano-Egyptian, ca. 300 CE. This textile panel depicts a gladiator wearing a yellow and orange cloak but otherwise naked, holding things in both his hands. His hair is dark and curly. Many of the Roman textiles that we know of come from Egypt because the dry desert heat has preserved them well. However, textiles were an important part of Roman household life -- they had rugs, curtains, cushions, bedcovers, and table linens. Textiles were also extremely valuable because of the difficulties of production and so would be recycled when they became too worn for household use into cleaning materials or diapers. This particular piece is an example of inset tapestry, in which there is a simple woven ground with colorful decorative panels applied atop it. If you look closely around the edges of the colored portion, you can see that the background has a looser weave. This is a hallmark of late Roman tapestry from Egypt. These decorative panels were often cut away from the linens used to wrap mummies' bodies by artifact collectors in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This piece comes with a frame, and the size, with the frame is 15" tall, 11 3/4" wide, and 3/4" deep.

Provenance: Ex-private Simonian collection, Los Angeles, CA, acquired before 1982.

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#110128

Fragment, but still quite excellent