Band with alternating rabbits and lions, with dancer or swimmer

3rd-7th century CE
Early Byzantine Egypt

Object Type	Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection
Dimensions	9 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (23.5 x 3.81 cm)
Medium	Linen and wool
Credit Line	Bates College Museum of Art, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Gift of the Marsden Hartley Estate, 1951.2.75.k
Accession Number	1951.2.75.k

For full citations see page for object accession number 1951.2.75.a. Similar patterns of alternating lions and rabbits occur elsewhere in textiles, as well as on sculpted architectural borders. Animals appear to be in a chase. The human figure is variously described as a dancer or a swimmer. Comparable examples include from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Evans and Ratliffe, p. 172, dated to 5th century with a Kelekian provenance; Egger, fig. 35; Frühchristliche, fig. 12; Hoskins, plate 11; Maguire, objects A33 and B3; and Carroll, #15, pp. 99-100. CARBON-DATED example is in De Moor, fig. 10, 430-660 CE. - Rebecca Corrie, August 12, 2020