Roundels with Hunters

This textile consists of two fragments mounted together. They are woven with floral roundels that enclose horsemen hunting lions. The theme of riders hunting with lances, the floral frames of the roundels, and the costumes of the hunters were all inspired by silks from the Byzantine world. The stiff, abstracted style, however, is characteristic of Sogdian silks, woven in Sogdiana in Central Asia and often traded to distant markets. These fragments were preserved in a grave in Egypt where they were found sewn as ornaments onto a tunic.