id: 130419 accession number: 1953.18 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.18 updated: Nereid (Sea-Nymph) from a Hanging, late 300s - 400s. Egypt, Byzantine period, late 4th - 5th century. Slit-and dovetailed-tapestry weave probably woven in a linen plain-weave ground; dyed wool, undyed linen; overall: 66.7 x 65.4 cm (26 1/4 x 25 3/4 in.); mounted: 76.8 x 75.6 x 2.9 cm (30 1/4 x 29 3/4 x 1 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1953.18 title: Nereid (Sea-Nymph) from a Hanging title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: late 300s - 400s creation date earliest: 375 creation date latest: 499 current location: creditline: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund copyright: --- culture: Egypt, Byzantine period, late 4th - 5th century technique: slit-and dovetailed-tapestry weave probably woven in a linen plain-weave ground; dyed wool, undyed linen department: Textiles collection: T - Coptic type: Textile find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 66.7 x 65.4 cm (26 1/4 x 25 3/4 in.); Mounted: 76.8 x 75.6 x 2.9 cm (30 1/4 x 29 3/4 x 1 1/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Art and Anatomy opening date: 1960-05-08T04:00:00 Art and Anatomy. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (May 8-June 6, 1960). title: Coptic Art opening date: 1963-04-01T05:00:00 Coptic Art. Villa Hügel, Essen, Germany (organizer) (April 1-July 31, 1963). title: Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation opening date: 2001-11-02T05:00:00 Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 2001-October 15, 2002). title: Coptic Textile Rotation opening date: 2010-03-31T04:00:00 Coptic Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 31, 2010-April 1, 2011). title: Coptic Textile Rotation opening date: 2015-03-03T05:00:00 Coptic Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 3, 2015-April 11, 2016). title: Coptic Textile Rotation - Gallery 106 opening date: 2020-11-05T05:00:00 Coptic Textile Rotation - Gallery 106. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 5, 2020-August 2, 2021). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Anatomy in Art. William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City. MO (May 8-June 6, 1960).
Koptische Kunst,Christentum am Nil, Villa Hügel, Essen, Germany (April 1-July 31, 1963); Kunsthaus, Zürich (October 31, 1963-January, 15, 1964).
Früchristliche und koptische Kunst, Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna, Austria (February 15-May 15, 1964).
L'art Copte, Petit Palais, Paris, France (June 15-September 15, 1964).
Masterpieces of World Art from American Museums, From Ancient Egyptian to Contemporary Art, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan (September 11-October 17, 1976); The Kyoto National Museum, Kyoto, Japan (November, 2-December 5, 1976). --- PROVENANCE (Mrs. Paul Mallon, New York). date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Look closely at the eyeliner beneath the eye: it is formed by mixing two colors of thread, pink and blue. digital description: wall description: This mythological nereid, or sea nymph, a popular subject matter in late antiquity, is offering up the contents of a colored glass bowl. She is adorned with costly jewelry which includes large emeralds, sapphires, and pearls, a loosely draped shawl, and a brilliant halo. The nereid is surrounded by a border decorated with grape vines and birds. The quality of the craftsmanship is not diminished by the permanent brown blemishes, identified as dormant mold spores, which were present when it was acquired in 1953. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS "Art and Archaeology at the Cleveland Museum of Art." Archaeology 6, no. 4 (1953): 195-202. page number: p. 199, cover illus url: www.jstor.org/stable/41663172. Shepherd, Dorothy G. "A Late Hellenistic Tapestry from Egypt." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41, no. 1 (1954) page number: pp. 4-6 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25141926 The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 65 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n26 Cleveland Museum of Art, and William Mathewson Milliken. The Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1958. page number: p. 7 url: Kunsthaus Zürich. Christentum am Nil; Koptische Kunst; Nachtrag. 1963. page number: pl. VI, no. 242 url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 30 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n54 Bourguet, R. du. 1966. "La technique des étoffes coptes en rapport avec leur dotation". Bulletin De Liaison Du Centre International D'études Des Textiles Anciens. 17-30. page number: p. 17 url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 30 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n52 Volbach, Wolfgang Fritz, and Jüri Gabriel. Early Decorative Textiles. London: Hamlyn, 1974. page number: pl. 9 url: Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan. Masterpieces of World Art from American Museums from Ancient Egyptian to Contemporary Art. Tokyo: National Museum of Western Art, 1976. page number: Cat. No. 6 url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 36 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n56 Rutschowscaya, Marie-Hélène. Coptic Fabrics. Paris, France: Adam Biro, 1990. page number: p. 71 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.18/1953.18_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.18/1953.18_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1953.18/1953.18_full.tif