Description

Fragment of a woolen textile woven in the traditional Kapati style, one of the distinguished styles Egypt has known during the Christian period. The Kapati was named after the Copts of Egypt; and it was said that Al-Mukawkas, the Governor of Egypt, offered Kapati cloths to the Prophet Muhammed.
Two squares separated by festoons, from which hang geometric motifs, occupy the center of the fragment. The center of the fragment is occupied by a representation of a dancing man surrounded by geometric motifs. The fragment dates back to the period which extends from the mid-third century to the mid-fourth century CE when pagan themes were common.

Wool

Many classical authors, such as Herodotus and Plutarch, report that the Ancient Egyptians felt an aversion for wool, because they considered it unclean, and also because of the hot climate of Egypt. However, during the Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine periods, wool was broadly used, especially for decoration. Coptic weavers use to produce the wool decorated motifs and then sew them on shirts and cloaks.

• Zahi Hawass, ed., Bibliotheca Alexandrina: The Archaeology Museum (Cairo: The Supreme Council of Antiquities, 2002): 116-117.
• Henry Frederick Lutz, Textiles and Costumes Among the Peoples of the Ancient Near East (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1923).
• Muhammad Abdelaziz Marzouk, History of Textile Industry in Alexandria, 331 B.C.-1517 A.D. (Alexandria: Alexandria University Press, 1955).
• Marie-Hélène Rutschowscay, “Textiles”, in The Coptic Encyclopedia, edited by Aziz Suryal Atiya, vol. 7 (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1991).
• Mona Serry, ed., Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Antiquities Museum, introduction by Ismail Serageldin (Alexandria: Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Antiquities Museum, 2015): 173, 326.
• Strabo, The Geography of Strabo, translated by Horace Leonard Jones, Loeb Classical Library 49, 50, 182, 196, 211, 223, 241, 267 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982-1995).