How Many Mends?
- Textile (furnishing?)
- Wool
- Late Antique, 3rd-7th century CE
- Egypt
- Aziz Atiya Collection, KM 90257
This once-elegant woolen textile shows numerous repairs. Decorative bands were reattached, holes were darned, and areas of fraying weave were reinforced. Differences in thread and stitching suggest that many hands worked over time to preserve this valued heirloom. How many repairs can you see? This cloth was likely a pillow or furnishing cover in an elegant home. Only traces remain of its original central medallion. The surrounding geometric decorations and tapestry-woven birds, winged human figures, and baskets of fruit were meant to symbolize its owners' prosperity and well-being.