Thyrsos-shaped panel with floral designs and wave pattern border

3rd-7th century CE
Early Byzantine Egypt

Object Type	Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection
Dimensions	8 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (21.59 x 11.43 cm)
Medium	Wool
Credit Line	Bates College Museum of Art, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Gift of the Marsden Hartley Estate, 1951.2.75.b
Accession Number	1951.2.75.b

Comparable works in the Cleveland Museum collection, 1926.1849 and 1926.1850, dated 5th to 6th century. 1926 gift to museum from Mrs. Charles Deering who is the donor for 28 fragments, photos available on-line. The Cleveland collection also includes a number of rondels with similar red grounds. (1921.41 and 1895.600). (A similar red Thyrsos-shaped panel appears in Maguire, as B9, p. 104, along with almost identical floral tree as A 27, p. 71, as that at the center. For full citation, see page for 1951.2.75a.) A similar floral tree at center can be found in Evans and Ratliffe, pp. 164-165, dated 6th to 8th century. - Rebecca Corrie, August 11, 2020