Textile ArtsByzantine7th century

Band with Two Figures on Horseback

7th century

Description

Vivid, fragmentary tapestry woven band with two riders. Each rider raises high his left arm. The upper rider has red hair, white clothing, and large yellow shoes. He sits on a red horse against a dark green, almost black field and faces to the right. The rider facing left has black hair, gold and pink clothing, black shoes, and a big smile. He sits upon a green galloping horse against a red field. Below the green horse, the top of a dark green square is visible, suggesting the design of the upper rider may repeat below. There is an outer border of interlocking color segments and an inner border of white dots connected by bars of red and green against a gold field. The fragments in the border areas are not all in their original placement. The warps run perpendicular to the design. The tapestry band is mounted on a backing of folded plain linen.

Classification

Textile Arts

Technique

Tapestry

Medium

Wool and linen

Culture

Byzantine

Period

Byzantine period

Century

7th century