History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Byzantine Textiles: Embroidery, Delphine Dah

BYZANTIUM: Trade, Treasure, Tradition

The textile that I will be discussing is the Embroidered Medallion found in the fifteenth to the sixteenth century Byzantine Empire. This rare example of Byzantine embroidery consists of two medallions, one depicting the eagle of Saint John, the other the angel of Saint Matthew, two of the four evangelists. The original piece is paired with the other medallion, which shows the symbol for Mark and Luke. Since their scale is so small it suggests that they are meant to be attached to an epitrachelion, a stole worn by priests and bishops as a symbol of their priest hood.

Case Study Of Byzantium, Shelby Johnson

BYZANTIUM: Trade, Treasure, Tradition

The Byzantine Empire (395-1453 CE) was a large cultural center that included a meshing of different societies in terms of trade. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, the empire had a monopoly of sea trade, leading to their multiple years of success under many different ruling emperors. Many different countries brought with them pieces of their culture and textile materials to the Byzantine Empire.

Around 500 A.D. China was known for their silk making textiles, holding the secret of their creation for many years until a group of traveling monks in Europe were able to smuggle out silkworm eggs from China, …