The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is holding an exhibition which displays approximately 100 Egyptian textile fragments.
According to the museum’s website, the items include two full tunics, the principle garment of both men and women in ancient Egypt, which were often embellished with decorative bands and panels.
From the introduction of Christianity to the advent of Islam in 640 AD, said the museum statement, certain types of cloths commonly known as Coptic textiles were produced in Egypt. Often buried with corpses, these cloths and garments survived in Egypt's arid climate which provided ideal conditions for their preservation until they were excavated in the late 19th century.
It added that “the hand-woven fabrics, most of them dating from the 3rd to 7th centuries, feature images of dancers, haloed saints with hands raised in prayer and a myriad of flora and fauna evoking the abundant life of the Nile Valley. Some display Arabic inscriptions celebrating divine power. All provide colorful glimpses into a world of the past: what people wore, how they decorated their homes, and how they perceived nature and the supernatural.”
The collection was formed by. Rose Choron, a private collector. The exhibition was organized by the Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said the IMA.
The exhibition is scheduled to run from February 24 through April 22 – Albawaba.com
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