Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (11.1999(2000))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

golden-yellow and green. Textiles executed
in the samit fagonne and taquete fagonne tech-
niques and featuring a similar ornament
were found, for instance, at AntinoeA
The third textile from T. 127 is a shroud
preserved in two pieces (Fig. 5), once wrap-
ping the body of the deceased. Its total
width is 194 cm, its length — the surviving
section - 80 cm. From the waist down the
warp has become totally disintegrated, leav-
ing merely some loose bunches of weft
threads. The weave here was plain balanced
tabby. Decorating the piece across its width,
3.0 cm from both the upper and bottom
edges, are two dark blue silk bands flanked

with narrow red bands that were also made
of silk, all in the same tabby weave. The
interest of this textile lies in two silk bands
of tapestry, each 8.7 cm wide, running
across the fabric. The characteristic decora-
tion, as well as the fairly modest, mono-
chromatic coloring put this fabric in a small
group (six pieces have been published so far)
of textiles produced in the second half of the
12th century, that is, at the close of the
Fatimid period. All six are decorated with
silk tapestry bands with a typical decoration
executed in red thread on a golden back-
ground. The ornaments consist of a wavy
design, bands with an inscription in Arabic


Fig. 4. Shawl (Nd. 99410)
(Photo W Godlewski)

3> Some textiles from the Louvre feature patterns and ornaments that are analogous to the Naqlun piece, cf. M. Martiniani-
Reber, Textiles et mode sassanides (1997), 19, 70, cat. 21; 104, cat. 49; 127, cat. 74; 130, cat. 77.

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