Fragment with Large Leaf

Large tapestry woven dark green leaf with light green, blue, red, and white details. Undyed warps running perpendicular to the design. The tapestry leaf currently sits atop a plain woven linen fabric. The large size of the leaf suggests this is a fragment cut from a hanging or furnishing rather than a garment. Roman and Byzantine hangings and curtains commonly featured large plant motifs that created the sense of an indoor garden and played with the divisions between interior and exterior space.