Roundels (Orbiculi)

This pair of roundels depict nearly identical bucolic scenes rendered in tapestry weave in beige, light pink, crimson, orange, yellow, light green, green, light blue, blue, and purple-brown. At bottom center, an amphora sprouts vine branches, which hide a pair of lions and two rabbits. A seminude figure wearing a hat and cloak perches in the vine scroll at center top. A brightly hued band encircles the scene. Remnants of the plain-weave ground are preserved beyond this frame.

The small size of these roundels suggests they may have come from a tunic. The depiction of animals and hunters amid foliage connotes abundance and fruitfulness, an iconography common in the late antique eastern Mediterranean in many media. The human figures, animals, and floral motifs are densely packed in the central field of the medallions, appearing more like blocks of color and patterned abstractions than easily legible representations of plants and creatures. The similarity of the weaving and design arrangements of the two medallions attests to the high skill of the weavers, who were able to reproduce the complex design with only minor variations.

—Elizabeth Dospĕl Williams, May 2019

Washington, DC, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Ornament: Fragments of Byzantine Fashion, September 10, 2019—January 5, 2020.