Roundel (Orbiculus)

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.111
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 4th–7th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 10.9 cm × W. (weft) 10.8 cm (4 5/16 × 4 3/4 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 medallion is woven in tapestry weave in beige and gray-blue. Remnants of the surrounding tapestry weave ground are visible around the edges. At center a human figure in a short tunic with crossed legs, likely a hunter, grasps a long-necked animal. A basket appears beneath the figure’s feet, while a mushroom-like feature sits over his shoulder. The border consists of abstracted wave crests rendered as a series of connected circles.

The small size of this medallion suggests it came from a tunic. The iconography at center is ambiguous: the creature’s body appears to be feathered and its long feet seem to end in claws, making it possible that it is some kind of fowl.

—Elizabeth Dospěl Williams, May 2019

Notes

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.111
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 4th–7th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 10.9 cm × W. (weft) 10.8 cm (4 5/16 × 4 3/4 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.

Dumbarton Oaks, The Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Harvard University: Handbook (Washington, DC, 1955), 156, no. 304.

D. Thompson, “Catalogue of Textiles in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection” (unpublished catalogue, Washington, DC, 1976), no. 23.

Accession number	BZ.1953.2.111
Attribution and Date	Egypt, 4th–7th c.
Measurements	H. (warp) 10.9 cm × W. (weft) 10.8 cm (4 5/16 × 4 3/4 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.