id:			161684
accession number:	2000.5
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.5
updated:		2022-05-17 09:00:20.966000

Curtain Panel with Scenes of Merrymaking, 500s. Egypt, Byzantine period. Linen, undyed; wool: dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping; overall: 144.2 x 57.1 cm (56 3/4 x 22 1/2 in.); mounted: 153.7 x 66 x 3.2 cm (60 1/2 x 26 x 1 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund and Gift of the Textile Art Alliance in memory of Robert P. Bergman 2000.5

title:				Curtain Panel with Scenes of Merrymaking
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			500s
creation date earliest:		500
creation date latest:		599
current location:		106A Migration Period & Coptic
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund and Gift of the Textile Art Alliance in memory of Robert P. Bergman
copyright:			

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culture:	Egypt, Byzantine period
technique:	Linen, undyed; wool: dyed; tapestry weave with supplementary weft wrapping
department:	Textiles
collection:	T - Coptic
type:		Textile
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 144.2 x 57.1 cm (56 3/4 x 22 1/2 in.); Mounted: 153.7 x 66 x 3.2 cm (60 1/2 x 26 x 1 1/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation
	opening date:   2000-09-12T04:00:00
	<i>Byzantine Gallery 210 Rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 12, 2000-October 25, 2001).

	title:		Coptic Textile Rotation
	opening date:   2011-04-04T04:00:00
	<i>Coptic Textile Rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 4, 2011-May 21, 2012).

	title:		Coptic Textile Rotation
	opening date:   2016-04-12T04:00:00
	<i>Coptic Textile Rotation</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 12, 2016-May 22, 2017).

	title:		Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106
	opening date:   2021-11-18T05:00:00
	<i>Coptic Textile Rotation Gallery 106</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 18, 2021-November 13, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Gallery 210 textile rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 11, 2000-October 21, 2001).

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 
The textile industry drove the Egyptian economy, dominated by the flax plant from which linen is derived.

digital description: 


wall description: 
This large panel conveys merrymaking, wealth, and power through its symbolic imagery and deep purple color. It was originally part of a luxurious wide curtain with similar panels alternating with plain linen panels. Although woven in Christian Egypt, the panel is dominated by pagan subjects. A nude male stands beside a dancing female in transparent clothing in each of the three squares, alternating with centaurs (half-man, half-horse creatures) in roundels. In the central square, Dionysus, the god of wine, holds a grapevine and a weary Hercules leans on his club below. The lively animal imagery conveys wealth because few could afford animals such as lions, bulls, and hares.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” March 17, 2000, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 2
	url:		https://archive.org/details/cmapr4321

	Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. <em>The Middle Ages in 50 Objects</em>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 60-63; Reproduced: p. 61
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.5/2000.5_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.5/2000.5_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.5/2000.5_full.tif