Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes

The identification of figures on Egyptian textiles of the Byzantine period (sixth-seventh centuries AD) is still a delicate and uncertain exercise due to the rarity of examples clearly named by inscriptions in Coptic or Greek. This search for identities is moreover often distorted or led astray by t...

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Main Author: Amandine Mérat
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: École du Louvre 2013-03-01
Series:Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cel/525
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author Amandine Mérat
author_facet Amandine Mérat
author_sort Amandine Mérat
collection DOAJ
description The identification of figures on Egyptian textiles of the Byzantine period (sixth-seventh centuries AD) is still a delicate and uncertain exercise due to the rarity of examples clearly named by inscriptions in Coptic or Greek. This search for identities is moreover often distorted or led astray by the Western vision of researchers who, influenced by Christian art of the medieval period, regularly attribute a Christian saintly dimension to any figure with a nimbus around his or her head. But during Late Antiquity, the nimbus was first and foremost an attribute of Roman and pagan origin, destined to highlight all sorts of illustrious figures, whether historical or mythological, such as emperors, heroes and allegories. Taking this observation as a starting point and based on examples from Greco-Roman art, itself strongly influenced by Egyptian weavers, an in-depth study of tapestries in the museums of the Louvre, Rennes and Rouen enabled the identification of the figures represented to be reconsidered and to demonstrate that they were in actual fact pagan allegories, linked to the theme of the Seasons.
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spelling doaj-art-feaf18d94ca4471a850c5f226f2c0c5c2025-01-30T14:00:12ZfraÉcole du LouvreLes Cahiers de l'École du Louvre2262-208X2013-03-01210.4000/cel.525Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptesAmandine MératThe identification of figures on Egyptian textiles of the Byzantine period (sixth-seventh centuries AD) is still a delicate and uncertain exercise due to the rarity of examples clearly named by inscriptions in Coptic or Greek. This search for identities is moreover often distorted or led astray by the Western vision of researchers who, influenced by Christian art of the medieval period, regularly attribute a Christian saintly dimension to any figure with a nimbus around his or her head. But during Late Antiquity, the nimbus was first and foremost an attribute of Roman and pagan origin, destined to highlight all sorts of illustrious figures, whether historical or mythological, such as emperors, heroes and allegories. Taking this observation as a starting point and based on examples from Greco-Roman art, itself strongly influenced by Egyptian weavers, an in-depth study of tapestries in the museums of the Louvre, Rennes and Rouen enabled the identification of the figures represented to be reconsidered and to demonstrate that they were in actual fact pagan allegories, linked to the theme of the Seasons.https://journals.openedition.org/cel/525
spellingShingle Amandine Mérat
Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
Les Cahiers de l'École du Louvre
title Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
title_full Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
title_fullStr Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
title_full_unstemmed Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
title_short Des allégories des Saisons sur les tissus coptes
title_sort des allegories des saisons sur les tissus coptes
url https://journals.openedition.org/cel/525
work_keys_str_mv AT amandinemerat desallegoriesdessaisonssurlestissuscoptes