Human Head from a Large Curtain (300s CE): Art, History and Details

Human Head from a Large Curtain (300s CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Distinguished by a halo, this unidentified person wears a jeweled cap encrusted with pearls alternating with other gems, possibly emeralds. The cap is similar to what the Greeks called a Phyrgian cap, worn by people from Central Asia. The fragment originally belonged to an all-woolen curtain or hanging. Fabrics woven entirely with wool were the most costly and admired.

Object facts

• Title: Human Head from a Large Curtain
• Date: 300s CE
• Culture: Egypt, Byzantine period
• Type: Textile
• Technique: tapestry weave, wool
• Dimensions: Overall: 17 x 31 cm (6 11/16 x 12 3/16 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1982.301

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.