Fragments of a Roundel (Orbiculus)

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.107
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 7th–10th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 16.5 cm × W. (weft) 17 cm (6 1/2 × 6 11/16 in.)
Technique and Material	Tapestry weave in polychrome wool and undyed linen
Acquisition history	Crocker Collection, San Francisco, Mrs. William Henry Crocker (Ethel Willard Sperry Crocker, 1861–1934); Loaned to the San Francisco Museum of Art until 1953; Gift of Mrs. Andre de Limur (Ethel Mary Crocker de Limur, 1891–1964), Washington, DC, in 1953; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.

This fragmentary medallion is woven in tapestry weave in beige, pink, crimson, grey-green, green, dark green, light blue, dark blue, yellow-tan, brown, and black. The central field consists of quadrupeds and flower motifs arranged in three rows of three, set against a dark blue ground. The outer frame consists of a single row of blossoms in many colors. The piece is highly fragmentary, with losses throughout, and has been pieced together from numerous smaller parts.

This small medallion likely served as a tunic decoration. Its poor state of preservation makes it difficult to identify the composition represented here, though the quadrupeds’ long, pointy ears suggest they may be gazelles or rabbits.

—Elizabeth Dospěl Williams, May 2019

Notes

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.107
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 7th–10th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 16.5 cm × W. (weft) 17 cm (6 1/2 × 6 11/16 in.)
Technique and Material	Tapestry weave in polychrome wool and undyed linen
Acquisition history	Crocker Collection, San Francisco, Mrs. William Henry Crocker (Ethel Willard Sperry Crocker, 1861–1934); Loaned to the San Francisco Museum of Art until 1953; Gift of Mrs. Andre de Limur (Ethel Mary Crocker de Limur, 1891–1964), Washington, DC, in 1953; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.

D. Thompson, “Catalogue of Textiles in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection” (unpublished catalogue, Washington, DC, 1976), no. 99.

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.107
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 7th–10th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 16.5 cm × W. (weft) 17 cm (6 1/2 × 6 11/16 in.)
Technique and Material	Tapestry weave in polychrome wool and undyed linen
Acquisition history	Crocker Collection, San Francisco, Mrs. William Henry Crocker (Ethel Willard Sperry Crocker, 1861–1934); Loaned to the San Francisco Museum of Art until 1953; Gift of Mrs. Andre de Limur (Ethel Mary Crocker de Limur, 1891–1964), Washington, DC, in 1953; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.