WHAT’S HAPPENING
FROM WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S Antony and Cleopatra to
the more modern Mummy franchise, popular culture has long
been obsessed with ancient Egypt. The history and art of me-
dieval Egypt, on the other hand, is perhaps less well-known.
For those curious about what life was like during that time
period full of change, The Textile Museum at George Wash-
ington University in Washington, D.C., is hosting the exhibit
Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt.
Woven Interiors features some spectacular decorative
pieces of cloth from the early medieval period, some of
which are around 1,700 years old and in remarkable condi-
tion considering their age. According to Senior Curator
Sumru Belger Krody, these textiles survived partially because
of Egypt’s dry climate and partially because they were so
treasured. Their owners took great care of these textiles and
were sometimes even buried with them.
It’s easy to understand why the pieces on display were so
loved. Mostly tapestries, they are intricately woven to showcase
religious iconography, animals, intricate geometric designs, and
scenes from stories. The colors are surprisingly vivid given
their age, with bright reds and deep blues dominating.
The exhibit follows the history of Egypt beginning in the
fourth century CE when the country was part of the Eastern
Roman Empire (what modern historians refer to as the Byzan-
tine Empire) and ending in the twelfth century CE. According
to Krody, during this time Christianity expanded to Egypt,
where it existed side by side with pagan beliefs as it slowly
grew in popularity over the next few centuries and was even-
tually surpassed by Islam. This plurality of religions is evident
in the textiles on display. For example, one hanging from the
sixth century shows the goddess Hestia in her divine glory,
while another from the same century features the Virgin Mary
and baby Jesus in a similarly glorifi ed fashion.
Woven Interiors runs from August 31, 2019, through January
5, 2020. If you go, Krody recommends viewing the textiles in
the exhibit on their own before going back through to read the
informative panels. She also hopes visitors will leave the exhibit
with an understanding and appreciation of how people today
are similar to their early medieval counterparts. After all, while
textile design and production may have changed over the cen-
turies, the very human love of decorating one’s home in beau-
tiful cloth has stayed the same.
Egyptian Textiles
on Display
PHOTOSCOURTE
SY
OFTHE^ TEX
TILE^ MUSEUM^Above top: Hanging with depiction of the goddess Hestia Polyolbus
from sixth-century Egypt. Right: Hanging with depiction of Virgin and
Child from sixth-century Egypt.6 | HANDWOVEN http://www.interweave.com