2-726-987 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Decorations and Sleeve from a Tunic, 700s. Classical figures and winged animals remained popular during the early Islamic period. The nude male may portray Dionysus, Greek god of wine; he holds his thyrsus-a staff ornamented with ivy leaves and pine cones-as he pours liquid from a small jug for the panther. These colourful designs would have decorated the front or back of a tunic and one sleeve. Elaborate embellishments were cherished. Thus, once a tunic began to fray, its decoration was sewn onto a new one, as seen on this winterweight woolen tunic cloth. Its finely detailed motifs, some with eccentric drawing, are woven in tapestry weave-the equivalent of painting with weft thread; discontinuous horizontal wefts are interlaced only where needed in the design.